HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 


-OF— 


Colonial  Florida. 


-BY- 


RICHARD  L.  CAMPBELL. 


Cleveland,  Ohio: 

THE  WILLIAMS   PUBLISHING   CO. 

3  892. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  year  1892, 
by  Richard  L.  Campbell,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian 
of  Congress,   at  Washington. 


•  •  •  • 
•••  •  •( 
•    •  •  i 


PREFACE. 


The  inducement  to  write  this  book  was  to 
supply,  in  a  slight  measure,  the  want  of  any 
particular  history  of  British  rule  in  West 
Florida.  With  that  inducement,  however,  the 
effort  would  not  have  been  made  but  for  the 
sources  of  original  information  existing  in  the 
Archives  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  as  well  as 
others,  pointed  out  to  me  by  Dr.  William 
Kingsford  of  Ottawa,  author  of  the  *  History 
of  Canada;'  to  whom  I  take  this  occasion  of 
making  my  acknowledgments. 

An  account  of  British  rule  necessitated  one  of 
Spanish  colonial  annals,  both  before  and  after  i-t. 

If  any  apology  be  necessary  for  the  space 
devoted  to  the  Creeks,  it  will  be  found  in  the 
considerations  that  for  twenty  years  the  body 


ivi2102'^i 


4  PREFACE. 

of  the  nation  was  within  the  limits  of  British 
West  Florida;  that  their  relations  with  the 
British,  formed  during  that  period,  influenced 
their  conduct  towards  the  United  States  until 
after  the  War  of  1812;  and  above  all,  that  the 
life  of  Alexander  McGillivray  forms  a  part  of 
the  history  of  West  Florida,  both  under  British 
and  Spanish  rule. 

The  prominence  given  to  Pensacola  is  due  to 
its  having  been  the  capital  of  both  British  and 
Spanish  West  Florida,  and  therefore  the  centre 
of  provincial  influence. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Chapter  1 9 

The  Discovery  of  Pensacola  Bay  by  the  Panfilo  de  Narvaez. 
The  Visits  of  Maldonado,  Captain  of  the  Fleet  of  Her- 
nando de  Soto. 

Chapter  II 19 

The  Settlement  of  Don  Tristram  de  Luna  at  Santa  Maria — 
His  Explorations — Abandonment  of  the  Settlement — 
The  First  Pensacola. 

Chapter  III 31 

Don  Andres  de  Pes — Santa  Maria  de  Galva — Don  Andres 
d'Arriola — The  Resuscitation  of  Pensacola — Its  Conse- 
quences. 

Chapter  IV 36 

Iberville's  Expedition — Settlement  at  Biloxi  and  Mobile — 
Amicable  Relations  of  the  French  and  Spanish  Colonies 
from  1700-1719. 

Chapter  V 41 

War  Declared  by  France  against  Spain — Bienville  Surprises 
Metamoras — Metamoras  Surprises  Chateauqn^— Bien- 
ville Attacks  and  Captures  Pensacola — San  Carlos  and 
Pensacola  Destroyed — Magazine  Spared. 

Chapter  VI 51 

Sketch  of  Island  Town— Its  Destruction— The  Third  Pensa- 
cola— The  Cession  of  Florida  by  S])ain  to  Great  Britain 
— Appearance  of  Town  in  1763 — Captain  Wills'  Report 
-Catholic  Church. 


G  CONTENTS. 


ClIATTKR  VII 59 

British  West  Florida— Pensacola  the  Capital— Government 
Kstablishcd— ^Johnstone  first  Governor — British  Settlers 
—First  Survey  of  the  Town — Star  Fort — Public  Buildin^^s 
— Resignation  of  Johnstone — His  Successor,  Monteforte 
Brown. 


Chapter  VIII 71 

General  Bouquet — General  Haldimand. 

Chapter  IX 78 

Governor  Elliott — Social  and  Military  Life  in  Pensacola — 
Gentlemen — Women  —  Fiddles  —  George  Street  —  King's 
Wharf  on  November  14,  1768. 

Chapter  X 87 

Governor  Peter  Chester — Ft.  George  of  the  British  and  St. 
Michael  of  the  Spanish  —  Council  Chamber — Tartar 
Point— Red  Cliff. 

Chapter  XI 93 

Representative  Government. 

Chapter  XII 97 

Growth  of  Pensacola — Panton,  Leslie  &  Co. — A  King  and 
the  Beaver — Governor  Chester's  Palace  and  Chariot — 
The  White  House  of  the  British  and  Casa  Blanca  of  the 
Spanish — General  Gage — Commerce — Earthquake. 

Chapter  XIII Ill 

Military  Condition  of  West  Florida  in  1778— General  John 
Campbell— The  Waldecks — Spain  at  War  with  Britain — 
Bute,  Baton  Rouge  and  Fort  Charlotte  Capitulate  to 
Galvez — French  Town — Famine  in  Fort  George — Galvez's 
Ex])edition  Against  Pensacola — Solana's  Fleet  Enters 
the  Harbor — Spaniards  Effect  a  Landing — Spanish  En- 
trenchment Surprised— The  Fall  of  Charleston  Cele- 
brated in  Fort  George. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  XIV 131 

Fort  San  Bernardo — Siege  of  Fort  George — Explosion  of 
Magazine — The  Capitulation — The  March  Through  the 
Breach — British  Troops  Sail  from  Pensacola  to  Brook- 
lyn. 

Chapter  XV 142 

Political  Aspect  of  the  Capitulation — Treaty  of  Versailles — 
English  Exodus — Widow  of  the  White  House. 


Chapter  XVI 150 

Boundary  Lines — William  Panton  and  Spain — Indian  Trade 
— Indian  Ponies  and  Traders — Business  of  Panton, 
Leslie  &  Co. 


Chapter  XVII 158 

Lineage  of  Alexander  McGillivray — His  Education — Made 
Grand  Chief— His  Connection  with  Milfort — His  Rela- 
tions with  William  Panton — His  Administration  of 
Creek  Affairs — Appointed  Colonel  b\'  the  British — 
Treaty  with  Spain — Commissioned  Colonel  b\'  the 
Spanish — Invited  to  New  York  by  Washington — Treaty 
— Commissioned  a  Brigadier-General  by  the  United 
States— His  Sister,  Sophia  Durant — His  Trials — His 
Death  at  Pensacola. 


Chapter  XVIII 200 

Governor  Folch — Barrancas — Changes  in  the  Plan  of  the 
Town — Ship  Pensacola — Disputed  Boundaries — Stiuare 
Ferdinand  VII. — English  Names  of  Streets  Changed  for 
Spa  nish  Names — Palafox — Saragossa — Reding — Bay  lea 
Romana — Alcaniz — Tarragona. 


Chapter  XIX 217 

Folch  Leaves  West  Florida — His  Successors— War  of  1812 — 
Tecumseh's  Visit  to  the  Seminoles  and  Creeks — Conse- 
quences— Fort  Minis — Percy  and  Nicholls'  Expedition. 


8  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  XX 227 

Attack  on  Fort  Boycr  by  Perc}-  and  NichoUs— Jackson's 
March  on  Pensacola  in  1814- — The  Town  Captured — 
Percy  and  Xicholls  Driven  Out — Consequences  of  the 
War  to  the  Creeks — Don  Manuel  Gonzalez. 


Chapter  XXI 243 

Seminole  War,  ISlS^ackson  Invades  East  Florida— De- 
feats the  Seminoles — Captures  St.  Marks — Arbuthnot 
and  Anibrister — Prophet  Francis — His  Daughter. 

Chapter  XXII 252 

Jackson's  Invasion  of  West  Florida  in  1818 — Masot's  Pro- 
test— Capture  of  Pensacola — Capitulation  of  San  Carlos 
— Provisional  Government  Established  by  Jackson — 
Pensacola  Restored  to  Spain — Governor  Callava — 
Treat}' of  Cession — Congressional  Criticism  of  Jackson's 
Conduct. 


Chapter  XXIII 267 

Treaty  Ratified — Jackson  Appointed  Provisional  Governor — 
Goes  to  Pensacola — Mrs.  Jackson  in  Pensacola — Change 
of  Flags — Callava  Imprisoned — Territorial  Government 
— Governor  Duval — First  Legislature  Meets  at  Pensa- 
cola. 


ERRATA. 

Page    10.  Sixteenth  for  Eighteenth. 

61.  Z)ystai2t  for  District. 

113.  Journal  for  ]ourney. 

117.  1779  for  1789. 

225.  Barrataria  for  Banataria. 

276.  Domingo  for  Doningo. 

233.  During  for  Doing. 

^9-  /7/^  '/  /  7  /  i- 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Discovery  of  Pensacola  Bay  by  Panfilo  de  Narvaez — 
The  Visits  of  Maldonado,  Captain  of  the  Fleet  of 
Hernando  de  Soto. 

On  one  of  the  early  days  of  October,  1528, 
there  could  have  been  seen,  coasting  westward 
along  and  afterw^ards  landing  on  the  south 
shore  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  five  small,  rudely- 
constructed  vessels,  having  for  sails  a  grotesque 
patchwork  of  masculine  under  and  over- wear. 
That  fleet  was  the  fruit  of  the  first  effort  at 
naval  construction  within  the  present  limits  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  built  of  yellow  pine 
and  caulked  with  palmetto  fibre  and  pitch. 
Horses'  tails  and  manes  furnished  the  cordage, 
as  did  their  hides  its  water  vessels.  Its  freight- 
age consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty  human 
bodies,  wasted  and  worn  by  fatigue  and  ex- 
posure, and  as  many  hearts  heavy  and  racked 
■with  disappointment.  It  was  commanded  by  His 


10  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Excellency'  Panfilo  de  Narvaez,  Captain-generat 
and  Adelantado  of  Florida,  a  tall,  big-limbed, 
red-haired,  one-eyed  man,  "with  a  voice  deep 
and  sonorous  as  though  it  came  from  a  cavern." 

These  ^vere  the  first  white  men  to  make  foot- 
prints on  the  shores  of  Pensacola  Ba}^  and  to 
look  out  upon  its  waters.  Although  the}' landed 
on  the  Island,  there  is  no  evidence  that  their 
vessels  entered  the  harbor. 

Narvaez,  an  Hidalgo,  born  at  Valladolid  about 
1480,  was  a  man  capable  of  conceiving  and 
undertaking  great  enterprises,  but  too  rash  and 
ill-starred  for  their  successful  execution,  possess- 
ing the  ambition  and  avarice  which  impelled  the 
Spanish  adventurers  to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  during  the  eighteenth  centur^^,  with 
whom  Indian  life  was  but  a  trifling  sacrifice  for 
a  pearl  or  an  ounce  of  gold. 

Five  years  before  his  Florida  expedition  he 
had  been  appointed,  with  a  large  naval  and 
land  force  under  his  command,  by  Velasquez, 
governor  of  Cuba,  to  supersede  Cortez,  the 
conqueror  of  Mexico,  and  to  send  him  in  chains 
to  Havana,  to  answer  charges  of  insubordina- 
tion to  the  authority  of  Velasquez.    But  Cortez 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  11 

was  not  the  man  to  be  thus  superseded.  Never 
did  his  genius  for  great  enterprises  make  a  more 
striking  display  than  by  the  measures  he  adopted 
and  executed  in  this  emergency.  By  them  he 
converted  that  threatening  expedition  into  one 
of  succor  for  himself,  embracing  every  supply, 
soldiers  included,  he  required  to  complete  his 
conquests.  Of  this  great  achievement  the  de- 
feat of  the  incompetent  Narvaez  was  only  an 
incident. 

No  labored  comparison  of  conqueror  and 
vanquished  could  present  a  more  striking  con- 
trast between  them  than  that  suggested  by 
their  first  interview.  **  Esteem  it,  "said  Narvaez, 
**  great  good  fortune  that  you  have  taken  me 
captive."  "It  is  the  least  of  the  things  I  have 
done  in  Mexico,"  replied  Cortez,  a  sarcasm 
aimed  at  the  incapacity  of  Narvaez,  apart  from 
the  gains  of  the  victor. 

The  fruits  of  the  expedition  to  Narvaez  were 
the  loss  of  his  left  eye,  shackles,  imprisonment, 
banishment,  and  the  humiliation  of  kneeling  to 
his  conqueror  and  attempting  to  kiss  his  hand. 
To  the  Aztec  the  result  was  the  introduction  of 
a  scourge  that  no  surrender  could  placate,  no 


12  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

submission,  however  absolute  and  abject,  could 
sta3%  and,  therefore,  more  pitiless  than  the 
sword  of  Cortez — the  small-pox. 

After  leaving  Mexico,  Narvaez  appeared  before 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  to  accuse  Cortez  of 
treason,  and  to  petition  for  a  redress  of  his  own 
wrongs,  but  the  dazzling  success  of  Cortez,  to 
say  nothing  of  his  large  remittances  to  the 
royal  treasury,  was  an  effectual  answer  to  every 
charge.  The  emperor,  however,  healed  the 
wounded  pride,  and  silenced  the  complaints  of 
the  prosecutor  by  a  commission  with  the  afore- 
mentioned sonorous  titles  to  organize  an  expe- 
dition for  a  new  conquest,  by  w^hich  he  might 
compensate  himself  for  the  loss  of  the  treasures 
and  empire  of  Montezuma,  which  he  had  so 
disastrously  failed  to  snatch  from  the  iron 
grasp  of  Cortez. 

The  preparations  to  execute  this  commission 
having  been  made  by  providing  a  fleet,  a  land 
force,  consisting  of  men-at-arms  and  cavalry, 
as  well  as  the  necessary  supplies,  Narvaez,  in 
April,  1528,  sailed  for  the  Florida  coast,  and 
landed  at  or  near  Tampa  bay. 

Having  resolved  on  a  w^estward  movement, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  13 

he  ordered  his  fleet  to  sail  along  the  coast, 
whilst  he,  by  rather  a  circuitous  march,  would 
advance  in  the  same  direction.  This  parting 
was  at  once  final  and  fatal.  He  again  reached 
the  Gulf,  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  St. 
Marks,  with  his  command  woefully  wasted  and 
diminished  by  toil,  battle  and  disease;  and,  as 
can  well  be  imagined,  with  his  dreams  of  avarice 
and  dominion  rudely  dispelled. 

No  tidings  of  the  fleet  from  which  he  had  so 
lucklessly  parted  being  obtainable,  despair  im- 
provised that  fleet  with  motley  sails  which  we 
have  seen  mooring  ofl*  the  island  of  Santa  Rosa 
in  the  early  days  of  October,  its  destination 
being  Mexico — a  destination,  however,  which 
was  but  another  delusion  that  the  winds  and 
the  waves  were  to  dispel. 

Narvaez  found  a  grave  in  the  maw  of  the  sea, 
as  did  most  of  the  remnant  of  his  followers. 
Famine  swept  off  others,  leaving  only  four  to 
reach  Mexico  after  a  land  journey  requiring 
years,  marked  by  perils  and  sufferings  incident 
to  such  a  journey  through  avast  forest  bounded 
only  by  the  sea,  intersected  by  great  rivers,  in- 
habited b\'  savages,  and  infested  by  wild  beasts. 


14  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

One  of  the  survivors  v^as  Cabega  de  Vaca,  the 
treasurer  and  historian  of  the  expedition. 

Twelve  years  elapsed  after  Narvaez  discovered 
Pensacola  Bay  before  the  shadow  of  the  white 
man's  sail  again  fell  upon  its  w^aters.  In 
January,  1540,  Capitano  Maldonado,  who  was 
the  commander  of  the  fleet  which  brought 
Fernando  de  Soto  to  the  Florida  coast,  entered 
the  harbor,  gave  it  a  careful  examination,  and 
bestowed  upon  it  thenameof  Puertad' Anchusi, 
a  name  probably  suggested  by  Ochus,*  which  it 
bore  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  In  entering  Ochus 
he  ended  a  voyage  westward,  made  in  search  of 
a  good  harbor,  under  the  orders  of  Soto,  who 
was  at  that  time  somewhere  on  the  Forida 
coast  to  the  westward  of  Apalachee. 

Having  returned  to  Soto,  Maldonado  made 
so  favorable  a  report — the  first  official  report — 
of  the  advantages  of  Puerta  d'  Anchusi  that 
Soto  determined  to  make  it  his  base  of  supply. 
He  accordingly  ordered  Maldonado  to  proceed 
to    Havana,  and    after   having   procured    the 


*  So  the  name  is  given  bj'-  historians ;  but,  to  be  consistent 
with  the  termination  of  other  Indian  names  in  West  Florida, 
it  should  be  written  Ochee  or  Ochusee. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  15 

required  succors  to  sail  to  Puerta  d'  Anchusi, 
where  he  intended  to  go  himself,  and  there  to 
await  Maldonado's  return  before  he  ventured 
into  the  interior;  a  prudent  resolve,  suggested 
possibly  by  the  sight  of  the  bones  of  Narvaez's 
horses,  which  had  been  slain  to  furnish  cordage 
and  water- vessels  for  his  fleet. 

But  the  resolve  was  as  brief  as  it  was  wise.  A 
few  days  after  Maldonado's  departure  a  cap- 
tured Indian  so  beguiled  Soto  with  tales  of  gold 
to  be  found  far  to  the  northeast  of  Apalachee, 
where  he  then  was,  that  banishing  all  thoughts 
of  Puerta  d'  Anchusi  from  his  mind,  he  began 
that  circuitious  march  w^hich  carried  him  into 
South  Carolina,  northern  Georgia,  and  Alabama, 
where  he  wandered  in  search  of  treasure  until 
disappointment,  wasted  forces,  and  needed  sup- 
plies again  turned  his  march  southward,  and  his 
thoughts  to  his  rendezvous  with  Maldonado. 

That  rendezvous  w^as  to  be  in  October,  1540. 
Faithful  to  instructions,  Maldonado  was  at 
Puerta  d'  Anchusi  at  the  appointed  time  with  a 
fleet  bearing  all  the  required  supplies.  But  Soto 
did  not  keep  the  tryst.  He  was  then  at  Mau- 
villa,   or   Maubila,  supposed    to    be  Choctaw 


16  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Bluff,  on  the  Alabama  river,  absorbed  by  diiSi- 
culties  and  engaged  in  conflicts  such  as  he  had 
never  before  encountered.  Through  Indians 
they  had  communicated,  and  intense  was  the 
satisfaction  of  Soto  and  his  command  at  the 
prospect  of  a  relief  of  their  wants,  repose  from 
their  toils,  and  tidings  of  their  friends  and  loved 
ones. 

Soto,  however,  still  ambitious  of  emulating 
the  achievements  of  Cortez  and  Pizzaro,  looked 
upon  Puerta  d'  Anchusi  as  only  a  base  of  sup- 
pi}^  and  refuge  for  temporary  repose,  from 
which  again  to  set  out  in  search  of  his  goal. 
But  very  different  were  the  views  of  his  follow- 
ers. By  eaves-dropping  on  a  dark  night  behind 
their  tents,  he  learned  that  to  them  Puerta  d' 
Anchusi  was  not  to  be  a  haven  of  temporary 
rest  only,  but  the  first  stage  of  their  journey 
homeward,  where  Soto  and  his  fortunes  were 
to  be  abandoned. 

This  information  again  banished  Puerta  d' 
Anchusi  fi-om  his  thoughts  under  the  prompt- 
ings of  pride,  which  impelled  him  to  prefer  death 
in  the  wilderness  to  the  mockery  and  humilia- 
tion of  failure.     He  at  once  resolved  to  march 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  17 

deeper  into  the  heart  of  the  continent,  and,  un- 
consciously, nearer  to  the  mighty  river  in  whose 
cold  bosom  he  was  to  find  a  grave. 

As  in  idea  we  go  into  the  camp  at  Mauvilla, 
on  the  morning  when  the  word  of  command 
was  given  for  a  westward  march,  we  see  depicted 
on  the  war-worn  visages  of  that  iron  band 
naught  but  gloom  and  disappointment,  as,  con- 
strained by  the  stern  will  of  one  man,  they 
obediently  fall  into  ranks  without  a  murmur, 
much  less  a  sign  of  revolt. 

Again,  if  in  fancy  we  stand  on  the  deck  of 
Maldonado's  ship  at  Puerta  d'  Anchusi,  we 
may  realize  the  keen  v^^atchfulness  and  the  deep 
anxiety  with  which  day  after  day  and  night 
after  night  he  scans  the  shore  and  hills  beyond 
to  catch  a  glint  of  spear  or  shield,  or  strains  his 
ear  to  hear  a  bugle  note  announcing  the 
approach  of  his  brothers-in-arms.  And  only 
after  long,  weary  months  was  the  vigil  ended, 
as  he  weighed  anchor  and  sailed  out  of  the 
harbor  to  go  to  other  points  on  the  Gulf 
shore  where  happily  he  might  yet  meet  and 
succor  his  commander. 

To  this  task  did  he  devote  himself  for  three 


18  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

years,  scouring  the  Gulf  coast  from  Florida  to 
Vera  Cruz,  until  the  curtain  of  the  drama  was 
lifted  for  him,  to  find  that  seventeen  months 
previously  his  long-sought  chief  had  been  lying 
in  the  depths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that  a 
wretched  remnant  only  of  that  proud  host, 
which  he  had  last  seen  in  glittering  armor  on 
the  coast  of  Florida,  had  reached  Mexico  after 
undergoing  indescribable  perils  and  privations. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  19 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Settlement  of  Don  Tristram  de  Luna  at  Santa  Maria — 
His  Explorations — Abandonment  of  the  Settlement — 
The  First  Pensacola, 

Nearly  twenty  years  passed  away  after 
Maldonado's  visit  to  Ochus  before  Europeans 
again  looked  upon  its  shores. 

In  1556,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  the  bishop 
of  Cuba  united  in  a  memorial  to  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  representing  Florida  as  an  inviting 
field  for  conquest  and  religious  work.  Imperial 
sanction  having  been  secured,  an  expedi- 
tion was  organized  under  the  command  of 
Don  Tristram  de  Luna  to  effect  the  triple  objects 
of  bringing  gold  into  the  emperor's  treasury, 
extending  his  dominions,  and  enlarging  the 
bounds  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  by  winnijig 
souls  to  the  church.  For  the  first  two  enter- 
prises one  thousand  five  hundred  soldiers  were 
provided,  and  for  the  last  a  host  of  ecclesiastics, 


20  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

friars,  and  other  spiritual  teachers.  Puerta  d* 
Anchusi  was  selected  as  the  place  of  the  projected 
settlement,  the  base  from  which  the  cross  and 
the  sword  were  to  advance  to  their  respective 
conquests. 

Accordingly,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  August, 
1559,  de  Luna's  fleet  cast  anchor  within  the 
harbor,  which  he  named  Santa  Maria;  the  same 
3^ear  in  which  the  monarch  who  authorized  the 
expedition  died,  the  month,  and  nearly  the  day 
on  which  he,  a  living  man,  was  engaged  in  the 
paradoxical  farce  of  participating  in  his  ov^n 
funeral  ceremonies  in  the  monastery  of  Yuste. 

The  population  of  two  thousand  souls,  which 
the  fleet  brought,  with  the  required  supplies  of 
every  kind,  having  been  landed,  the  work  of 
settlement  began.  Of  the  place  where  the  settle- 
ment was  made  there  exists  no  historic  informa- 
tion, and  we  are  left  to  the  inference  that  the 
local  advantages  which  afterwards  induced  d' 
Arriola  to  select  what  is  now  called  Barrancas 
as  the  site  of  his  town,  governed  the  selection  of 
de  Luna's,  unless  tradition  enables  us  to  identify 
the  spot,  as  a  future  page  will  endeavor  to  do. 

The  destruction  of  the  fleet  by  a  hurricane 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  21 

within  a  week  after  its  arrival  threw  a  shadow 
over  the  infant  settlement,  aggravating  the 
natural  discontent  incident  to  all  colonizations, 
resulting  from  the  contrast  between  the  stern 
realities  of  experience  and  of  expectations  col- 
ored by  the  imagination  of  the  colonist. 
Against  that  discontent,  ever  on  the  increase, 
de  Luna  manfully  and  successfully  struggled  un- 
til 1562 ;  and  thus  it  was,  that  for  two  years 
and  more  there  existed  a  town  of  about  two 
thousand  inhabitants  on  the  shores  of  Pensa- 
cola  Bay,  which  antedated  by  four  years  St. 
Augustine,  the  oldest  town  of  the  United  States. 

Don  Tristram  de  Luna  sent  expeditions  into 
the  interior,  and  finally  led  one  in  person.  In 
these  journeys  the  priest  and  the  friar  joined,  and 
daily  in  a  tabernacle  of  tree  boughs  the  hoi}- 
offices  of  the  Catholic  faith  were  performed,  the 
morning  chant  and  the  evening  hymn  breaking 
the  silence  and  awakening  the  echoes  of  the 
primeval  forest. 

Where  they  actually' went,  and  how  far  north, 
it  is  impossible  to  say,  owing  to  our  inability 
to  identify  the  sites  of  villages,  rivers,  and  other 
land  marks  mentioned  in  the  narratives  of  their 


22  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

journeys.  The  presumption  is  strong,  however, 
that  thev  took,  and  followed  northward  the 
Indian  trail,  on  the  ridge  beginning  at  Pensa- 
cola  Bay,  forming  the  water  shed  between  the 
Perdido  and  Escambia  rivers,  and  beyond  their 
headwaters  uniting  with  the  elevated  country 
which  throws  off  its  springs  and  creeks  east- 
ward to  the  Chattahoochee  and  westward  to 
the  Alabama  and  Tallapoosa  rivers.  It  contin- 
ued northerly  to  the  Tennessee  river ;  a  lateral 
trail  diverging  to  where  the  city  of  Montgom- 
ery now  stands,  and  thence  to  the  site  of  We- 
tumpka;  and  still  another  leading  to  what  is 
now  Grey's  Ferry  on  the  Tallapoosa. 

That  trail,  according  to  tradition,  was  the 
one  by  which  the  Indians,  from  the  earliest 
times,  passed  between  the  Coosa  country  and 
the  sea,  the  one  follow^ed  in  later  times  by  the 
Indian  traders  on  their  pack-ponies,  and  the 
line  of  march  of  General  Jackson  in  his  invasion 
of  Florida  in  1814.  • 

That  it  was  regarded  and  used  as  their  guid- 
ing thread  by  de  Luna's  expeditions  in  pene- 
trating the  unknown  country  north  of  Santa 
Maria  they  sought  to  explore,  is  evidenced  by. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  23 

two  facts.  They  came  to  a  large  river  wnich, 
instead  of  crossing,  they  followed  its  course, 
undoubtedly  by  the  ridge,  and,  therefore,  not 
far  from  the  trail.  They  also  came  to  or 
crossed  the  line  of  de  Soto's  march,  which  he 
had  made  ten  jxars  previously,  as  following  the 
trail  the}'  would  be  compelled  to  do  and  found 
amongst  the  Indians  a  vivid  recollection  of  the 
destruction  and  rapine  of  their  people  by  white 
men,  which  the\^  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the 
then  sparsity  of  population,  and  the  abandon- 
ment of  clearings  former  h'  under  cultivation. 

So  impressed  v,ras  de  Luna  with  the  fertility 
and  other  attractive  features  of  the  beautiful 
region  of  Central  Alabama,  which  he  explored, 
that  he  determined  to  plant  a  colony  there. 
But  in  that  design  he  was  eventually  thwarted 
by  the  discontent  and  insubordination  of  his  fol- 
lowers, the  most  of  whom,  from  the  first,  seem 
to  have  had  no  other  object  in  view  than  to 
break  up  the  settlement,  and  to  terminate  their 
insupportable  exile  by  returning  to  Mexico. 

There  were  amongst  those  composing  the 
expedition  two  elements  which  proved  fatal  to 
its  success.    The  gold-greedy  soon  found  that 


24  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

the  pine  barrens  of  Florida,  and  the  fertile  val- 
le3^s  of  Alabama  were  not  the  eldorado  of  which 
they  had  dreamed.  To  the  friar,  the  spiritual 
outlook  was  not  more  promising,  the  Indians 
he  encountered  being  more  ready  to  scalp  their 
would-be  spiritual  guide  than  to  open  their  ears 
to  his  teachings. 

Ostensibly,  to  procure  supplies  for  the  colon}^ 
two  friars  sailed  for  Havana  and  thence  to 
Vera  Cruz,  to  make  known  its  necessities  to  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  solicit  the  required  suc- 
cor. But,  as  soon  as  they  could  reach  his  ear 
they  endeavored  to  persuade  him  of  the  futility 
of  the  expedition,  and  the  unpromising  charac- 
ter of  the  country  as  a  field  for  colonization. 

At  first,  his  heart  being  in  the  enterprise,  he 
was  loathe  to  listen  to  reports  so  inconsistent 
with  the  glowing  accounts  \v^hich  had  prompted 
the  expedition  and  enlisted  his  zealous  support ; 
but,  at  last,  an  impression  was  made  upon  him, 
and  an  inquiry  resolved  upon. 

But  the  viceroy al  investigation  was  fore- 
stalled by  the  visit  to  Santa  Maria  of  Don 
Angel  de  Yillafana,  whom  the  Vicero}^  of  Cuba 
had  appointed  governor  of  that,  at  that  time 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  25 

undefined  region  called  Florida,  who  permitted 
the  dissatisfied  colonists  to  embark  in  his 
vessels,  and  abandon  the,  to  them,  hateful  coun- 
try in  which  they  had  passed  two  miserable 
years. 

Don  Tristram  de  Luna,  with  a  few  followers 
only,  remained,  with  the  fixed  resolution  to 
maintain  the  settlement,  provided  he  could 
secure  the  approbation  and  assistance  of  the 
Viceroy.  But  an  application  for  that  purpose, 
accompanied  by  representations  of  the  inviting 
character  of  the  interior  for  settlement,  was 
met  by  a  prompt  recall  of  de  Luna  and  an  order 
for  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise. 

Don  Tristram,  against  w^hom  histor\'  makes 
no  accusations  of  cruelty  or  bloodshed  during 
his  expeditions  into  the  interior,  or  his  stay  at 
Santa  Maria,  and  who,  animated  by  the  spirit 
of  legitimate  colonization,  sought  only  to  found 
a  new  settlement,  invites  respect,  if  not  admira- 
tion, as  a  character  distinct  and  apart  from  the 
gold-seeking  cut-throat  adventurers  that  Spain 
sent  in  shoals  to  the  Gulf  shores  during  the  six- 
teenth centur}'.  S\'mpathy  with  him  in  his 
trials  and  regret  at  his  failure,  induce  the  reflec- 


26  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

tion  that,  perhaps,  had  he  been  burdened  with 
fewer  gold-seekers  and  only  one-twentieth  of  the 
ecclesiastics  who  encumbered  and  leavened  the 
colony  with  discontent,  his  settlement  might 
have  proved  permanent. 

The  local  results  of  de  Luna's  expedition  were 
fixing,  for  a  time,  the  name  of  Santa  Maria 
upon  the  Bay,  and  permanently  stamping  upon 
its  shores  the  name  Pensacola ;  and  here  narra- 
tion must  be  suspended  to  determine  the  origin 
of  the  latter. 

Roberts  says,  the  name  was  ^'ihat  of  an  In- 
dian tribe  inhabiting  round  the  bay  but  which 
was  destroyed.'*  Mr.  Fairbanks  tells  us  it  was 
"a  name  derived  from  the  locality  having  been, 
formerly,  that  of  the  town  of  a  tribe  of  Indians 
called  Pencacolas,  which  had  been  entirely 
exterminated  in  conflidls  with  neighboring 
tribes." 

The  first  objection  to  this  assigned  origin  of 
the  name  is,  that  it  is  evidentlj^  not  Indian,  such 
names  in  West  Florida  invariably  terminating 
with  a  double  e,  as  for  examples,  Apalachee, 
Choctawhatchee,  Uchee,  Ochusee,  Escambee, 
Ochesee,  Chattahoochee.    The  *'cola"  added  to 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA 


27 


Apalachee,  and  *'ia"  substituted  in  Escambia 
for  ee,  indicate  the  difference  between  the  ter- 
minations of  Indian  and  Spanish  names. 

Again,  amongst  savages,  we  should  expect  to 
find  in  the  name  of  a  place  an  indication  of  a 
natural  object,  the  name  being  expressive  of  the 
object,  and  hence  as  lasting.  But,  that  the 
accident  of  an  encampment  of  savages  upon  a 
localit}^  should  stamp  that  locality  with  their 
tribal  name,  as  a  designation  that  should  sur- 
vive not  only  the  encampment,  but  the  very 
existence  of  the  tribe,  is  incredible.  An  extinct 
tribe  would  in  a  generation  or  two  cease  to 
have  a  place  in  the  traditions  of  surviving 
tribes,  because  their  extinction  would  be  only 
an  ordinar>^  event  amongst  American  savages. 

The  termination  being  Spanish,  and  no  nat- 
ural object  existing  suggestive  of  the  name,  we 
naturally  turn  our  search  to  a  vocabulary  of 
Spanish  names,  historical  and  geographical. 

Perched  upon  a  rock  springing  240  feet  high 
from  the  Mediterranean  shore  of  Spain,  con- 
nected with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  strip  of 
sand,  is  the  fortified  little  seaport  of  Peniscola. 
Substitute  ''a"  for  ''i,"  transpose  "s"  and  we 


28  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

have  the  name  for  the  original  of  which  we  seek. 
The  seaports  of  Spain  furnished  the  great  bod  v 
of  Spanish  adventurers  to  America  in  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries;  and  what 
more  likely  than  that  some  native  of  the  little 
town  crowning  with  its  vine-clad  cottages  the 
huge  rock  that  looks  out  upon  the  *' midland 
ocean,"  should  have  sought  to  honor  his  home 
by  fixing  its  name  upon  a  spot  in  the  new 
world  ? 

\Yhen  and  by  whom  the  name  was  affixed  to 
our  shores  is  an  interesting  inquiry.  Neither 
Roberts,  nor  Fairbanks,  nor  anj^  other  author- 
ity, informs  us.  It  comes  into  history  w4th  the 
advent  of  d'  Arriola,  whose  settlement  will  be 
the  subject  of  a  future  page. 

Three  hypotheses  furnish  as  many  answers 
to  the  question :  it  was  original  with  Arriola 
to  the  extent  at  least  of  a  new  application  of  a 
Spanish  name;  or  he  found  the  place  already' 
named  in  some  chart  or  document  now  lost  to 
us;  or  already  fixed  by  an  Indian  tradition, 
according  to  Roberts  and  Fairbanks. 

The  first  hypothesis  requires  no  comment. 
The  second  rests  upon  the  existence  of  a  fact  of 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  29 

which  we  can  procure  no  evidence.  The  third  is 
a  tradition  founded  upon,  or  involving,  a  Span- 
ish name. 

Ver}^  extraordinary  events  or  striking  objects 
only  are  the  subjects  of  the  traditions  of  savage 
tribes;  and  what  event  can  be  imagined  more 
extraordinary  and  impressive  to  the  savage 
mind  than  to  be  brought  suddenly  in  contact, 
for  the  first  time,  with  the  white  man  under  all^ 
the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  de  Luna's 
settlement?  It  was  one  not  likely  to  pass  out 
of  tradition  in  the  lapse  of  one  hundred  and 
thirt^^-three  years,  for  two  long  lives  only 
would  be  required  for  its  transmission.  The 
settlers  would  be,  in  Indian  terminology,  a  tribe ; 
their  departure  would  be  an  extinction;  and 
vanity  would  at  last  attribute  its  ending  to  the 
prowess  of  the  Red  man. 

A  name  that  identifies  a  locality'  and  forms  a 
feature  of  a  purely  Indian  tradition,  having  no 
reference  to  or  connection  whatever  with  the 
white  man,  must  be  an  Indian  name.  Here, 
how^ever,  the  name  under  discussion  is  a  Span- 
ish and  not  an  Indian  name.  The  conclusion 
is,   therefore,   irresistible,  that  as  the  name  is 


30  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Spanish  the  tradition  relates  to  Spaniards, 
and  that  the  former  is  a  Spanish  designation  of 
the  locaHt}^  of  the  people  to  whom  it  relates. 
The  settlement  of  de  Luna  was  the  onl}'  Span- 
ish settlement  with  which  the  Indians  could 
have  come  in  contact  before  Arriola's.  That 
settlement,  therefore,  must  be  the  subject  of  the 
Indian  tradition,  and  the  Spanish  name  Pensa- 
cola  must  have  been  its  name. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  31 


CHAPTER  III. 

Don  Andrds  de  Pes— Santa  Maria  de  Gal va— Don  Andres  d' 
Arriola— The  Resuscitation  of  Pensacola— Its  Conse- 
quences. 

In  1693,  Don  Andres  de  Pes  entered  the  Bay, 
but  how  long  he  remained,  or  why  he  came, 
whether  for  examination  of  its  advantages,  from 
curiosit}',  or  necessit}^  to  disturb  its  solitude 
and  oblivion  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
3'ears,  history  does  not  say.  But  as  a  memorial 
of  his  visit,  he  supplemented  the  name  de  Luna 
had  given  it  with  de  Galva,  in  honor  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico;  and  thus,  it  comes  into 
colonial  histor\^  with  the  long  title  of  Santa 
Maria  de  Galva. 

In  1696,  three  years  after  de  Pes'  visit,  Don 
Andres  d'  Arriola,  with  three  hundred  soldiers 
and  settlers,  took  formal  possession  of  the 
harbor  and  the  surrounding  country,  which,  to 
make   eifectual    and    permanent,    he    built    a 


32  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

** square  fort  with  bastions"  at  what  is  now 
called  Barrancas,  which  he  named  San  Carlos. 
As  the  beginning,  or  rather  reconstruction  of  a 
town  named  Pensacola,  he  erected  some  houses 
adjacent  to  the  fort.  And  there,  too,  was  built 
a  church,  historically  the  first  ever  erected  on 
the  shores  of  Pensacola  Bay,  but  presumptively 
the  second;  for  it  is  hardly  credible  that  the 
large  settlement  of  de  Luna,  embracing  so  many 
ecclesiastics,  should  have  failed  to  observe  the 
universal  custom  of  the  Spaniards  to  build  a 
church  wherever  they  planted  a  colony.  Irre- 
sistible, therefore,  is  the  inference  that  the  first 
notes  of  a  church-bell  heard  w^ithin  the  limits  of 
the  United  States  were  those  which  rolled  over 
the  waters  of  Pensacola  Bay  and  the  white 
hills  of  Santa  Rosa  from  1559  to  1562. 

Having  demonstrated  that  the  settlement  of 
de  Luna  v^^as  the  original  Pensacola,  that  of 
Arriola  was  apparently  the  second,  though 
actually  but  a  resuscitation  of  the  colony  of 
1559 ;  for  the  name,  the  people,  though  not  the 
same  generation,  and  the  place  being  one,  mere 
lapse  of  time  should  not  be  permitted  to  destroy 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  33 

the  unity  which  may  be  so  justly  attributed  to 
the  two  settlements. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  having  been 
largely  recruited  by  malefactors  banished  from 
Mexico,  must  be  notched  low  in  the  scale  of 
morals.  But,  perhaps,  in  some  instances  at 
least,  actions  were  then  adjudged  crimes  de- 
serving banishment  which  might  be  deemed 
virtues  in  a  more  enlightened  age,  and  under  free 
institutions;  for  under  the  despotic  colonial 
governments  of  Spanish  America  in  that  age  to 
criticize  the  vices,  or  censure  the  lawless  edicts 
of  a  satrap,  was  a  heinous  offence,  for  which 
transportation  was  but  a  mild  punishment. 

Originally,  Spain's  dominion  was  asserted 
over  the  entire  circle  of  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  as  w^ell  as  over  all  the  islands  which 
they  girdled.  But  upon  the  vo\'age  of  La  Salle 
from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  the 
sea,  France  asserted  a  claim,  under  the  name  of 
Louisiana,  to  the  entire  valley  of  the  river  from 
its  spring-heads  to  the  Gulf,  making  to  the  ex- 
tent of  the  southern  limit  of  her  claim,  from 
east  to  west,  a  huge  gap  in  Spain's  North 
American  empire. 


34  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

But  \Yhere  were  the  eastern  boundary'  of 
Louisiana,  and  the  western  limit  of  Florida  to 
be  fixed?  Had  the  French  expedition  under 
Iberville  reached  Florida  before  Arriola's,  Pen- 
sacola  would  have  been  included  in  Louisiana, 
and  afterwards  in  the  State  of  Alabama.  But 
Arriola's  settlement  was  first,  in  point  of  time; 
and  it  is  to  him  must  be  attributed  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Perdido  as  the  boundary  line 
between  the  F.rench  and  Spanish  colonies,  and 
the  consequent  exclusion  of  Pensacola  from  the 
limits  of  the  great  State  of  Alabama,  her  politi- 
cal influence,  her  fostering  care, "and,  compara- 
tively, from  the  vitalizing  influence  of  her  vast 
mineral  and  agricultural  resources. 

The  interest  of  history  consists  not  in  the 
mere  knowledge  or  contemplation  of  events  as 
isolated  facts,  but  in  stud^^ng  their  inter- 
relations, and  following  their  threads  of  con- 
nection through  all  the  meshes  of  cause  and 
effect.  It  is,  therefore,  an  interesting  reflection 
that  the  settlement  of  Arriola  may  not  have 
been  the  absolute,  though  it  was  the  apparent, 
cause  of  the  consequences  above  pointed  out. 
Behind  it,  in  the  shadow  of  a  centurv  and  a 


COLOICIAL   FLORIDA.  35 

ihird,  may  perchance  be  discerned  the  ultimate 
and  final  cause  of  those  consequences  in  the 
settlement  of  de  Luna.  He  planted  the  first 
colony,  and  because  he  so  did,  Arriola  settled 
his  on  that  spot  upon  which  the  lost  chart  and 
tradition  probabl}  coincided  in  fixing  the  Pen- 
sacola  of  1559. 

How  illustrative  of  the  truth  that  as  one 
human  life  can  have  but  one  beginning,  so  it  is 
with  that  aggregate  of  human  lives  w^hich  we 
call  a  people.  *'In  the  almighty  hands  of 
eternal  God,  a  people's  history  is  interrupted 
and  recommenced — never."* 


*  The  last  sentence  of  Guizot's  Historv  of  France. 


36  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Iberville's  Expedition — Settlement  at  Biloxi  and  Mobile  — 
Amicable  Relations  of  the  French  and  Spanish  Colonies 
from  1700-1719. 

The  Frencli  expedition  referred  to  in  the 
previous  chapter,  the  delay  of  which  was  so 
fateful  to  the  growth  and  commercial  future  of 
Pensacola,  appeared  oj6f  the  mouth  of  the  har- 
bor in  January,  1699.  But,  observing  the 
Spanish  flag  flying  from  the  mast-head  of  two 
war  vessels  lying  in  the  Ba}^  and  from  the  flag- 
staff of  Fort  San  Carlos,  they  did  not  enter  the 
harbor,  but  cast  anchor  off  the  Island  of  Santa 
Rosa.  Thence  an  application  was  made  to  the 
Spanish  governor  for  permission  to  enter,  which 
was  promptly  refused. 

After  that  curt  refusal  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
fleet,  consisting  of  three  vessels  under  the 
command  of  Lemoine  d'  Iberville,  accom- 
panied by  his  brothers,  Bienvielle  and  Sauville, 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  37 

which  was  taking  out  a  colony  with  the  neces- 
sary supplies  to  settle  southern  Louisiana, 
sailed  westward  and  took  formal  possession  of 
the  country  west  of  the  Perdido  river. 

Iberville's  first  settlement  was  made  at  Biloxi 
on  the  twent\'-seventh  of  February,  1699,  but 
it  was  afterwards  abandoned,  in  1702,  and  re- 
moved to  Mobile. 

To  the  accession  of  Philip  V.,  a  Bourbon 
prince,  to  the  Spanish  crown,  whilst  Louis  XIV. 
reigned  in  France,  must  be  attributed  the 
strangely  peaceful  settlement  of  the  Perdido  as  • 
the  boundary  line  between  Louisiana  and 
Florida.  For  the  politic,  if  not  natural,  harmony 
existing  between  two  kings  belonging  to  the 
same  royal  family,  a  grandfather  and  a  grand- 
son, both  the  objects  of  jealousy  and  suspicion 
to  the  other  nations  of  Europe,  necessarily  in- 
spired a  like  feeling  in  their  respective  colonial 
officers.  Hence  it  was  that  we  find  that  the 
ineffectual  expedition  of  Governor  Ravolli  of 
Pensacola,  in  1700,  to  expel  the  French  from 
Ship  Island,  was  the  last  instance  of  hostility 
between  the  Louisiana  French  and  the  Florida 
Spaniards  for  a  period  of  nineteen  years. 


38  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

Indeed,  so  intimate  were  the  relations  between 
the  two  colonies,  that  Iberville,  coming  from 
France,  in  1702,  with  two  war  ships  taking 
succor  to  the  French  colonists,  terminated  their 
voyage  at  Pensacola,  and  thence  sent  the  sup- 
plies to  Mobile  in  small  vessels.  Again,  in 
1703,  he  began  a  vo^^age  to  France  by  sailing 
from  Pensacola. 

The  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  in  vyrhich 
England  was  the  antagonist  of  Spain  and 
France,  tightened  the  bonds  of  amity  between 
the  colonies  of  the  latter.  In  1702,  in  antici- 
pation of  an  English  expedition  against  Pensa- 
cola, Governor  Martino  readily  procured  from 
Bienville  a  needed  supply  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  in  1704,  Governor 
Martino  promptly  furnished  food  from  his 
stores  at  Pensacola  to  the  famine-threatened 
colonists  at  Mobile;  that  kind  office  being  a 
just  requital  of  a  like  humanity  which  had 
been  exercised  by  Bienville,  in  1702,  towards 
the  starving  garrison  of  San  Carlos. 

In  1706-7,  eighteen  Englishmen  from  Caro- 
lina, heading  a  large  body  of  Indians,  made 
inroads  upon  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Florida, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  39 

and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  extended  their 
operations  as  far  westward  as  Pensacola.  In 
the  latter  ^^ear,  Bienville  was  applied  to  by  the 
Spanish  governor  to  aid  him  in  defending  Pensa- 
cola from  an  impending  attack  by  the  English- 
men and  their  Indian  allies.  Prompt  and  bold 
in  action,  Bienville  at  once  advanced  from 
Mobile  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  Canadians 
to  assist  the  Spaniards.  But  no  conflict  oc- 
curred, for  after  a  few  days  of  hostile  demon- 
strations the  enemy  abandoned  their  enterprise, 
owing  to  the  want  of  necessary  supplies. 

In  other  ways,  too,  the  good  feeling  and  inti- 
mate relations  of  the  two  colonies  were  mani- 
fested. We  learn,  from  a  letter  of  the  mean, 
jealous,  and  growling  Governor  Condillac  of 
Louisiana  to  Count  Pontchartrain,  that,  in 
1713,  there  existed  a  trade  between  Pensacola 
and  Mobile,  in  which  the  former  was  supplied 
by  the  latter  with  lumber,  poultr\'  and  vegeta- 
bles— a  petty  trafiic,  but  not  too  small  to  excite 
the  jealousy  of  the  old  grumbler. 

Such  were  the  friendly  relations  existing 
between  the  Florida  Spaniards  and  the  Louisi- 
ana French  up  to  1719,  being  the  year  after 


40  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Bienville  had  founded  the  city  of  New  Orleans ; 
relations  which  must  be  borne  in  mind  to  enable 
us  to  form  an  enlightened  judgment  upon  the 
actions  of  the  men  engaged  in  the  blood}' 
drama  which  was  ushered  in  by  the  nineteen 
years  of  kind  offices  and  good  fellowship  which 
have  been  mentioned. 


Lemoine  d'  Iberville,  a  Canadian,  esteemed  the  most 
skillful  officer  of  the  French  navy  brilliantly  distinguished 
on  manj^  occasions,  was  selected  to  command  the  expedition 
to  southern  Louisiana,  designed  to  perfect  by  colonization 
the  claim  France  founded  upon  the  voyage  of  La  Salle.  He 
and  his  brothers,  Bienville,  the  founder  of  New  Orleans, 
Sauville,  Sevigny  and  Chateaugne  presented  a  group  of 
men  seldom  accorded  to  one  famih'. 

During  a  visit  to  Havana,  d'  Iberville  died  on  the  ninth 
of  July,  1706,  leaving  to  his  brothers  the  task  of  perfecting 
the  great  enterprise  to  which  the  last  seven  years  of  his  own 
life  had  been  devoted. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  41 


CHAPTER  Y. 

War  Declared  by  France  against  Spain — Bienville  Surprises 
Metamoras  —  Metamoras  Surprises  Chateaugne — Bien- 
ville Attacks  and  Captures  Pensacola — San  Carlos  and 
Pensacola  Destroyed — Magazine  Spared. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1719,  two  French 
vessels  brought  to  the  French  colony  the  intelli- 
gence that  in  the  previous  December,  France  had 
declared  war  against  Spain ;  an  event  of  which 
Don  Juan  Pedro  Metamoras,  governor  of 
Pensacola,  who  had  just  succeded  DonGregorio 
de  Salinas,  had  no  information. 

Bienville  at  once  organized,  with  all  possible 
secrecy,  an  expedition  by  land  and  water  to 
capture  Pensacola  b\^  surprise.  The  land  force, 
consisting  of  four  hundred  Indians  and  a  body 
of  Canadians,  was  collected  at  Mobile.  The 
naval  force,  composed  of  three  vessels,  two  of 
them^  the  Philippe  and  the  Toulouse,  carrying 
twenty-four  guns  each,  under  the  command  of 
Sevigny,  had  its  rendezvous  at  Dauphin  Island. 


42  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

The  movement  of  Bienville,  who  marched 
across  the  country  with  his  land  force,  and  that 
of  the  fleet  were  so  well  timed  that  on  the 
fourteenth  of  May,  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
as  the  vessels  presented  their  shotted  broadsides 
to  San  Carlos,  Bienville,  his  Canadians,  and 
Indians,  appeared  on  its  land  side.  There  was, 
of  course,  nothing  for  Metamoras  to  do  but  to 
order  the  chamade  to  be  beaten  and  to  settle 
the  terms  of  capitulation.  He  surrendered  the 
post  and  all  public  property  within  his  jurisdic- 
tion. It  was  stipulated  that  he  and  his  garrison 
should  march  out  of  the  fort  with  the  honors  of 
war,  retaining  a  cannon  and  three  charges  of 
powder,  that  they  should  be  transported  to 
Havanain  French  vessels,  that  the  town  should 
be  protected  from  violence,  and  that  the  property 
of  the  soldiers  and  that  of  the  inhabitants 
should  be  respected. 

The  victim  of  such  a  ruse,  it  was  natural  that 
Metamoras  should  have  directed  his  thoughts 
to  retaliation;  and  it  is  probable  that  during  the 
voyage  to  Havana  he  meditated  for  his  captors 
a  surprise  as  complete  and  prompt  as  that 
which  he  had  just  suffered  from  them. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  43 

After  the  French  vessels,  the  Toulouse  and  the 
Mareschal  de  Villars  had  reached  Cuba  and 
landed  their  prisoners,  the}^  were  seized  by  order 
of  the  governor  of  Havana,  who  had  at  once, 
upon  learning  of  the  disaster  at  Pensacola, 
determined  upon  its  prompt  reparation  by  a 
recapture.  He  accordingly  prepared  a  fleet,  con- 
sisting of  a  Spanish  war  ship,  nine  brigantines 
and  the  two  French  vessels.  In  this  fleet 
Metamoras  and  his  lately  captured  troops, 
besides  others,  embarked  for  Pensacola. 

On  the  sixth  of  August,  the  Spanish  fleet  was 
off  the  harbor.  The  two  French  vessels,  flying 
the  French  flag,  first  entered  as  decoys,  to 
enable  them  to  secure  favorable  positions  for 
attacking  San  Carlos  in  the  event  of  a  refusal 
to  surrender.  Immediatelv  after  them  came  the 
Spanish  war  vessel.  The  ruse  for  position  suc- 
ceeded, but  the  demand  to  surrender  was 
peremptorily  refused  by  Chateaugne,  the  com- 
mander of  the  fort.  To  an  almost  harmless 
cannonade  there  succeeded  an  armistice,  which 
the  French  sought  to  have  extended  to  four,  but 
which  the  Spaniards  limited  to  two  days. 

After  the  expiration  of  the  armistice,  another 


44  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ineffectual  exchange  of  cannon  shots  was  fol- 
lowed b}'  the  surrender  of  the  fort ;  the  terms 
being  that  the  garrison  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men  should  march  out  with  the  honors  of 
war  and  be  sent  to  Havana  as  prisoners. 
Chateaugne  also  was  to  be  sent  there  and 
thence  to  Spain  to  await  exchange.  They  were 
accordingly  all  taken  to  Havana.  Chateaugne, 
however,  instead  of  being  sent  from  there  to 
Spain,  was  imprisoned  in  Moro  Castle,  where 
he  remained  only  a  short  time,  in  consequence 
of  the  energetic  preparations  which  his  brother, 
Bienville,  was  then  making  for  his  deliverance. 

Metamoras,  once  again  in  command  at  Pensa- 
cola,  fully  realized  that  the  stake  for  w^hich  he 
and  Bienville  had  been  playing  was  not  to  be 
finally  won  by  such  strategems,  as  each  in  turn 
had  been  the  other's  victim,  and  that  the  two 
which  had  been  achieved  were  but  preludes  to 
a  trial  by  battle.  Appreciating,  too,  the 
bold,  prompt  and  enterprising  Bienville,  he  well 
calculated  that  his  time  for  preparation  would 
be  short,  and  he  accordingly^  improved  it  to  the 
best  of  his  abilities  and  resources. 

He  erected  a  battery  on  Point  Seguenza,  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  45 

western  extremity  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  which 
he  named  Principe  d'  Asturias,  to  aid  San 
Carlos  and  the  Spanish  fleet  in  resisting  an 
attack  by  sea.  To  guard  San  Carlos  from  a 
land  attack,  he  built  a  stockade  in  its  rear.  To 
man  all  his  works  he  had  a  force  of  six  hundred 
men. 

The  Fort  was  captured  by  Metamoras  early 
in  August,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  the  follow- 
ing September  Bienville  was  ready  to  settle  by 
arms  his  right  to  retain  it. 

The  celerity  of  Bieneville's  preparations  was 
due,  however,  to  the  accidental  arrival  at 
Dauphin  Island  of  a  French  fleet  under  Champ- 
meslin,  who  at  once  relieved  him  from  the  care 
and  preparation  of  the  seaward  operations 
of  his  expedition. 

The  naval  force  of  the  French  consisted  of  six 
vessels,  under  the  command  of  Champmeslin, 
the  ifercu/es  of  sixty-four  guns,  the  Mars  of  sixty, 
the  Triton  of  fifty,  the  Union  of  thirty-six,   the 

of  thirty-six  and  the  Philippe  of  twenty.   The 

land  force,  commanded  by  Bienville  in  person, 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  troops  lately 
arrived  from  France,  besides  a  large  number  of 


46  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

Canadian  volunteers,  which,  when  it  reached 
Perdido,  was  joined  by  five  hundred  Indians 
under  Longueville. 

Whilst  Bienville  was  moving  towards  Pensa- 
cola,  Champmeslin,  having  sailed  from  Dauphin 
Island,  entered  the  harbor  on  the  eighteenth  of 
September  with  five  of  his  vessels,  and  was 
soon  engaged  in  a  fierce  conflict  with  Principe 
d'  Asturias,  the  Spanish  fleet,  and  San  Carlos. 
At  the  time  the  five  vessels  went  into  action,  it 
was  supposed  that  the  Hercules  was  following 
them,  but  her  commander  hesitated  to  cross  the 
bar,  owing  to  her  draught  of  twent^^-one  feet,  a 
hesitation  which  almost  proved  fatal  to  her 
consorts,  for,  relying  upon  the  support  of  her 
heavj^  batteries,  they  now  found  themselves 
without  it,  whilst  they  were  under  the  concen- 
trated fire  of  the  Spanish  fleet  and  the  two  forts. 

In  that  conjuncture,  however,  they  were  saved 
by  one  of  those  inspirations  which  sometimes 
come  to  a  man  in  the  supreme  hour  of  trial, 
making  him  for  the  occasion  the  soul  of  a  host. 
A  Canadian  pilot,  being  inspired  himself,  in- 
spired the  commander  of  the  Hercules  with  con- 
fidence in  his  ability  to  take  her  over  the  bar 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  47 

and  into  the  action.  With  a  cheer  from  her  crew 
and  all  the  canvas  she  could  bear,  the  gallant 
ship  sped  under  the  guidance  of  the  bold  Canad- 
ian to  the  rescue  of  her  consorts. 

Speedily  her  sixty-four  guns  turned  the  tide  of 
battle.  Whilst  her  heavy  broadside  of  thirty- 
two  guns  soon  battered  Principe  d'  Asturias 
into  silence,  her  consorts  poured  their  fire  into 
the  Spanish  fleet,  which,  now  short  of  powder, 
struck  its  colors. 

After  a  conflict  of  two  hours,  San  Carlos  was 
the  only  point  of  defense  left  to  the  Spaniards, 
and  that  too,  threatened  by  anewfoe.  Bienville 
was  in  its  rear  ready  for  an  assault,  which  he 
soon  boldly  made.  He  was,  however,  so  much 
impeded  by  the  stockade  that  he  withdrew  his 
men  until  he  could  be  better  prepared  for  another 
attack.  In  the  assault,  it  is  said,  his  Indian 
allies  emulated  the  French  soldiers  in  daring  and 
in  their  efforts  to  tear  away  the  impeding 
stockade.  But  their  war-whoop  was  more 
effectual  and  decisive  than  their  valor.  Impress- 
ing the  Spaniards,  as  it  did,  with  visions  of 
blood-dripping  scalps,  it  disposed  them  to 
obviate  by  surrender  the  dire  consequences  of  a 


48  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

successful  assault,  for  they  felt  that  Bienville, 
however  so  disposed,  would  be  powerless  to 
stay  the  Indian's  scalping  knife  when  his  blood 
was  at  battle  heat.  Accordingly,  before  the 
assault  was  repeated,  Metamoras  signaled  for 
a  parW,  which  resulted  not  in  a  capitulation 
on  terms  which  he  asked  for,  but  in  a  surrender 
at  discretion. 

Even  after  the  cooling  process  of  the  time  re- 
quired for  the  parley  and  arranging  the  sur- 
render, the  Indians  were  so  loath  to  forego  their 
scalping  pastime,  the  precious  boon  of  victory, 
that  it  was  necessary  for  Bienville  to  redeem  the 
scalps  of  the  Spaniards  by  bestowing  one-half 
of  their  effects  upon  his  allies,  and  reserving  the 
other  half  only  for  his  own  soldiers. 

When  Don  Alphonso,  the  commander  of 
the  Spanish  fleet,  surrendered  l^is  sword  to 
Champmeslin,  the  latter  returned  it  with  the 
complimentary  assurance  that  the  Don  was 
worthy  to  wear  it.  But  Bienville  would  not 
even  condescend  to  accept  that  of  Metamoras, 
but  directed  him  to  deliver  it  to  a  by-standing 
soldier. 

But  the  real  hero  of  this  battle,  like  the  real 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  49 

heroes  of  many  other  fields  of  glory,  must  be 
unnamed,  for  though  it  is  recorded  that  the 
pilot  of  the  Hercules  was  rewarded  with  a 
patent  of  nobility  for  his  skill  and  daring,  there 
is  no  accessible  record  of  his  name. 

Having  won  a  surrender  at  discretion,  it  was 
Bienville's  pleasure  to  send  Metamoras  and  a 
sufficient  number  of  Spanish  troops  to  Havana, 
in  a  Spanish  vessel,  to  be  exchanged  for  the 
Frenchmen  who  had  been  sent  there  in  August; 
and  thus  it  was  that  he  worked  the  deliverance 
of  his  brother  Chateaugne  from  his  imprison- 
ment in  Mora  Castle.  The  rest  of  the  Spaniards 
were  sent  to  France  as  prisoners  of  war. 

It  was  his  will  and  pleasure  likewise  to  burn 
the  town  of  Pensacola,  and  to  utterly  destroy 
San  Carlos  by  blowing  it  up  with  powder.  The 
only  structure  left  undestroyed  was  the  maga- 
zine which  stood  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
fort. 

Upon  the  ruins  of  San  Carlos  there  was  fixed 
a  tablet  announcing:  ''In  the  year  1718,  on 
the  eighteenth  day  of  September,  Monsieur  Des- 
nard    de    Champmeslin,     Commander    of    His 


50  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Most  Christian  Majest}',  captured  this  place 
and  the  Island  of  Santa  Rosa  by  force  of  arms." 
Thus  did  the  Pensacola  of  Arriola,  after  hav- 
ing been  a  shuttlecock  in  the  cruel  game  of  war 
— captured,  recaptured  and  captured  again 
within  four  months  —  perish  utterh^  in  the 
throes  of  a  convulsion  and  the  glare  of  a  confla- 
gration ;  a  fate  which  may  be  traced  to  the 
intrigues  of  Cardinal  Alberoni,  the  ambitious 
and  crafty  minister  of  Philip  V.,  resulting  in  a 
war  in  which  Spain,  without  an  ally,  w^as  con- 
fronted by  the  united  arms  of  France,  Great 
Britain,  Holland  and  Austria.  **I  quickened  a 
corpse"  was  the  vain  boast  by  which  he  ex- 
pressed the  change  he  had  effected  in  Spanish 
polipy,  one  of  the  many  disastrous  consequences 
of  which  was  the  ending  in  fire  and  blood  of  a 
little  settlement  on  the  far-off  shores  of  the  new 
world. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Sketch  of  Island  Town— Its  Destruction— The  Third  Pen- 
sacola — The  Cession  of  Florida  In^  Spain  to  Great  Brit- 
ain—Appearance  of  Town  in  1763— Captain  Wills' Re- 
port— Catholic  Church. 

Ox  February  17,  1720,  five  months  after  the 
destruction  of  Pensacola,  a  treaty  of  peace  be- 
tween France  and  Spain  was  signed.  But  it 
was  not  until  early  in  January,  1723,  that 
Bienville,  under  orders  from  the  French  govern- 
ment, formally  restored  Pensacola  to  the  Span- 
iards, or  rather  its  site  and  surroundings. 

Of  the  first  settlement  of  the  Island  town 
there  exists  no  account,  but  it  is  probable  it 
began  immediately  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Pensacola  of  Arriola.  Its  origin  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  natural  precaution  of  Gover- 
nor Metamoras  upon  his  recapture  of  that  place 
and  preparation  for  a  struggle  with  the  French, 
to  remove  the  non-combatants  to  a  place  of 


52  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

safety,  or  rather  the  safest  in  the  vicinity,  and 
there  was  none  possessing  such  great  ad- 
vantages as  Santa  Rosa  island.  It  was  a 
narrow,  uninhabited  strip  of  land,  separated 
from  the  main  land  in  its  western  portion  by 
three  miles  of  water,  rendering  a  settlement 
there  comparatively  free  from  the  danger  of  sur- 
prise by  the  Indians.  The  deepest  water  for 
landing  on  the  bay-side,  and  a  supply  of  fresh 
water  obtainable  by  digging  wells,  would 
naturally  determine  the  location  of  the  settle- 
ment; and  these  conditions  were  met  by  a 
place  about  two  miles  from  the  western  point 
of  the  island,  not  far  from  the  present  bay- 
wharf  of  the  life-saving  station. 

The  progress  the  settlement  made  in  the  course 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century  is  presented  by  the 
annexed  engraving,  v\^hich  is  taken  from  a 
sketch  made  in  1743.  The  artist,  Don  Serres, 
who  was  a  resident  during  that  year,  came 
there  in  the  service  of  the  Havana  Company  in 
a  schooner  with  a  cargo  for  the  town. 

He  paid  New  Orleans  a  visit,  and  did  some 
profitable  trading  there  with  six  thousand 
dollars  which  he  had  at  his  command.    He  also 


A  North  View  of  Pknsacola  on  the  I 

1— The  Fort.  2— The  Chnrch.  3— The  Govenor's  Hous 


0  OF  Santa  Rosa.— Drawn  hv  Dom  Serres. 

1  4— The  Commandant's  House.  5— A  Well.  G— A  Hun.Lio. 


»    »       ,  >  ■ 


.  ,• ;  * 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  53 

secured  a  quantity  of  pitch  and  turpentine  for 
his  Company,  as  well  as  two  pine  spars,  each 
eighty-four  feet  long,  which  he  sent  to  Havana 
in  the  schooner.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
timber  trade  of  Pensacola,  its  first  known 
business  transaction  with  New  Orleans,  and  the 
last  authenticated  instance  of  one  of  its  timber 
dealers  engaging  in  the  elegant  pastime  of 
sketching. 

In  vain  has  information  been  sought  of  its 
progress  during  the  period  between  the  time 
Don  Serres  made  the  sketch  and  1754,  which 
embraced  the  last  eleven  years  of  its  existence, 
for  in  that  year  it  was  destro^'cd,  together  with 
many  of  its  people,  by  a  terrific  hurricane. 
And  thus  it  was  that,  as  the  Pensacola  of 
Arriola  perished  in  the  conflict  of  human  pas- 
sions, its  offspring  was  destroyed  in  a  war  of 
the  elements. 

The  survivors,  removing  to  the  north  shore  of 
the  Bay,  settled  upon  a  crescent-shaped  body  of 
dry  land,  about  the  eighth  of  a  mile  wide  in  its 
widest  part,  formed  by  the  Bay  and  a  titi 
swamp,  which,  extending  from  the  mouth  of  an 
estuarv  on  the    west,   curved  landward   to  a 


54  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

marsh  just  below  the  outlet  of  another  on  the 
east.  These  estuaries,  though  seemingly  the 
outlets  of  two,  were  in  fact  those  of  one  and 
the  same  stream  flowing  through  the  swamp, 
and  navigable  by  canoes  for  some  distance  from 
the  bay.  The  bay-shore  also  curved  deeply,  the 
indentation  being  in  fact  the  remnant  of  a  cove, 
which,  as  old  maps  show,  extended  to  and  be- 
yond the  northern  edge  of  the  swamp. 

That  settlement  v^as  but  a  removal  of  Pensa- 
cola  to  its  present  site,  like  that  by  which  it 
was  removed  to  the  island.  Each  settlement, 
in  its  order  of  time,  like  d' Arriola's  town,  being 
a  continuation  of  the  Pensacola  founded  by  de 
Luna  in  1559,  four  years  before  Menendez 
founded  St.  Augustine. 

Of  the  history  of  the  present  Pensacola,  be- 
yond its  bare  existence,  from  1754-  to  1763,  we 
have  no  information  further  than  that  its  in- 
significance shielded  it  from  the  trials  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  seven  years  war  ended  by  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  February  10,  1763. 

By  that  treaty  Florida  became  a  British 
colony.  On  July  6  of  that  year  Captain  Wills, 
in   command    of  the  third    battery  of  Royal 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  55 

Artillery,  then  at  Havana,  forming  a  part  of 
the  British  force  which  had  captured  the  city 
during  the  late  war,  was  ordered  by  General 
Keppel  to  proceed  with  his  command  to  Pensa- 
cola  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of  the 
place.    Arriving  there  on  the  seventh  of  August, 
Captain  Wills  having  presented  the  order  of  the 
king  of  Spain  to  the  Spanish  commander  for  the 
surrender  of  the  post,  it  was  promptly  obeyed. 
It  was  the  duty  of  Spain  under  the  treaty  to 
remove  her  troops  from  Pensacola.    Her  sub- 
jects, however,  were,  under  the  Ninteenth  article, 
entitled  to  remain  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their 
personal  rights,  religion  and  property ;  but,  re- 
solving to  remove  to  Mexico,  they  applied  to 
the  Spanish    government    for    transportation, 
which  was  promptly  promised.    Accordingly, 
on  September  2,  transports  for  the  removal  of 
the  garrison   and  people  arrived ;  and,  on  the 
third,  the  Spanish  troops  and  the  entire  popu- 
lation,  to  the    last    man,   woman    and    child, 
sailed  for  Vera  Cruz,  leaving  Captain  Wills  and 
his  command  the  only  occupants  of  the  town. 
It  is  to  a  report  written  b}'  him  a  few  days 
after  the  Spanish  exodus  that  we  owe  all  the 


56  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

information  we  possess   of  the  character  and 
appearance  of  the  town  at  that  time. 

It  consisted  of  *'40  huts,  thatched  with 
palmetto  leaves,  and  barracks  for  a  small 
jjarrison,  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  stockade 
of  pine  posts." 

The  report  says:  ''The  countr^^  from  the 
insuperable  laziness  of  the  Spaniards,  still  re- 
mains uncultivated.  The  woods  are  still  near 
the  village,  and  a  few  paltr^^  gardens  show  the 
only  improvements.  Stock,  they  have  none, 
being  entireW  supplied  by  Mobile,  w^hich  is 
pretty  well  cultivated  and  produces  sufficient 
for  export." 

Of  the  Indians  we  are  presented  with  the  fol- 
lowing glimpse:  "The  Indians  are  numerous 
around.  We  had  within  a  few  days  a  visit  from 
about  two  hundred  of  five  different  nations.  I 
was  sorry  not  to  have  it  in  my  power  of  making 
them  any  presents.  I  onl}^  supplied  them  with 
•  some  rum,  with  which  they  seemed  satisfied, 
and  went  off  assuring  me  of  their  peaceful  in- 
tentions and  promising  to  come  down  soon 
wath  some  of  their  principal  chiefs." 
The  church,  which  is  so  hallowing  a  feature 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  57 

in  the  sketch  of  the  Island  Town,  is  suggestive 
of  the  persevering  devotion  of  the  Catholic 
Faith  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  her  children. 
In  1559,  when  de  Luna  raised  his  national  flag 
upon  the  shores  of  Santa  Maria,  his  spiritual 
mother  raised  her  cross  beside  it.  With  that 
sacred  symbol  she  followed  him  in  his  explora- 
tions through  the  limitless  wilderness,  beginning 
and  ending  each  day  with  her  holy  rites.  She 
returned  wath  Arriola,  and,  as  he  built  his  fort, 
her  children  under  her  pious  promptings  built 
her  church.  As  the  drum  beat  the  reveille  to 
call  the  soldier  to  the  activities  of  life,  the  notes 
of  her  bell  reminded  him  of  her  presence  to 
admonish  and  console  him.  The  engraving 
presents  the  next  effort  of  her  zeal.  Afterwards, 
when  the  wing  of  the  hurricane  and  the  wild 
fury  of  the  waves  had  swept  away  her  island 
sanctuary,  and  left  her  children  houseless  on  a 
desolate  shore,  she  followed  them  to  that 
hamlet  which  has  just  been  described,  where, 
around  a  rude  altar,  sheltered  by  the  frail 
thatch  of  the  palmetto,  they  enjoyed  her  con- 
soling offices.  When,  in  1763,  their  national 
flag  fell  from  the  staff"  and  her  people  went  into 


58  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

voluntary  exile,  her  cross  went  with  them  as 
their  guide  and  solace.  She  returned  with 
Galvez,  and  never  for  a  day  since  then  has  she 
been  without  her  altar  and  her  priest  on  these 
shores  to  perform  her  rites  for  the  living  and  the 
dead.  For  many  years  after  the  establishment 
of  American  rule,  that  altar  and  that  priest 
were  the  only  means  by  which  the  Protestant 
mother,  more  obedient  to  the  Divine  word  than 
sectarian  prejudice,  could  obey  the  sacred 
mandate:  ''Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not." 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  59 


CHAPTER  VII. 

British  West  Florida— Pensacola  the  Capital— Government 
Established— Johnstone  first  Governor— British  Settlers 
—First  Survey  of  the  Town— Star  Fort— Public  Build- 
ings— Resignation  of  Johnstone — His  Successor,  Mon- 
teforte  Brown. 

The  little  settlement,  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  soon  attained  an  importance  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  its  appearance  and  condition. 

By  the  treat}'  of  Paris,  France  had  ceded  to 
Great  Britain  Canada,  and  that  part  of  Louis- 
iana east  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  source  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  running  through  its 
centre  to  the  Iberville  river,  thence  through  the 
middle  of  this  river,  lakes  Maurepas  and  Pont- 
chartrain,  to  the  Gulf.  That  acquisition,  with 
Florida,  extended  the  British  North  American 
empire  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic 
Sea,  bringing  alike  the  Seminoles  and  Esqui- 
maux under  its  dominion. 

On  the  seventh  of  October,  1763,  by  a  royal 


60  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

proclamation  the  limits  of  the  governments  of 
East  and  \Yest  Florida  were  established;  the  for- 
mer extending  from  the  Apalachicola  river  east- 
ward; the  latter  embracing  all  the  territory- 
lately  acquired  from  France  and  Spain  south  of 
the  parallel  of  31°  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Chattahoochee  river ;  and  by  another  exercise  of 
royal  authority,  in  February,  1764,  the  north- 
ern boundary  was  pushed  to  32°,  28'.    This 
line  was  also  the  southern  boundary  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  IMinois,  and  it  brought  Mobile  and 
Natchez  within  the  limits  of  West  Florida. 

Of  that  province,  so  extensive  and  so  rich  in 
natural  resources,  Pensacola  became  the  estab- 
lished capital ;  a  natural  result  of  the  high  esti- 
mate placed  by  the  British  upon  the  advantages 
of  the  harbor.  When  Lord  Bute's  ministry  was 
assailed  in  the  House  of  Commons  for  having 
procured  Florida,  by  the  surrender  of  Cuba, 
which  Great  Britain  had  conquered  in  the  v^ar 
ended  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  the  acquisition  of 
the  Bay  of  Pensacola  figures  as  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  ministerial  defense. 

The  first  step  towards  the  establishment  of 
civil  government  in   West  Florida  was  taken 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  61 

Upon  the  arrival,  in  February,  1764-,  at  Pensa- 
cola,  of  Commodore  George  Johnstone  of  the 
Royal  Navy,  who  came  as  the  governor  of  the 
province ;  his  first  official  act  being  a  proclama- 
tion announcing  his  presence,  powers,  jurisdic- 
tion, as  well  as  the  laws  which  were  to  be 
in  force.  There  came  with  him  the  Twenty-first 
British  regiment  as  a  garrison  for  the  post,  and 
also  a  number  of  civilians  in  search  of  fortune, 
or  new  homes ;  some  as  paravsites,  who  are  never 
absent  where  public  money  is  to  be  distributed, 
and  others  attracted  by  the  charms  of  the  dis- 
trict, under  the  delusive  misrepresentations  of 
which  the  immigrant  is  so  often  the  victim. 

In  November,  1764,  Governor  Johnstone,  un- 
der instructions  from  the  British  government — 
which  from  the  first  seems  to  have  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  the  development  of  its  late  acquisi- 
tions— published  a  description  of  the  province 
for  the  purpose  of  attracting  settlers.  By 
efforts  like  this,  a  tide  of  immigration  soon  be- 
gan to  flow  into  West  Florida,  which,  during 
the  British  dominion  of  nearly  twenty  years,  it 
is  estimated,  brought  into  it  a  population  of 
25,000.    In  this  inflow  were  observable  a  large 


62  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

number  of  Africans,  imported  under  official  en- 
couragement, to  clear  the  forests  and  till  the 
fields  of  the  province;  the  British  conscience 
being,  then,  still  enthralled  by  the  greedy  slave- 
traders  of  Bristol,  Liverpool  and  London,  was 
patientW  awaiting  the  advent  of  Clarkson  and 
Wilberforce,  to  quicken  it  into  resistance  to  the 
cruel  traffic. 

In  the  early  days  of  Governor  Johnstone's  ad- 
ministration, Pensacola  was  surve^-ed  and  a 
plan  established.  The  main  street  was  named 
George,  for  King  George  IIL,  and  the  second 
street  eastward  Charlotte,  for  Queen  Charlotte. 
The  area  between  those  streets  as  far  north  as 
what  is  now  Intendencia  street  was  not  sur- 
veyed into  blocks  and  lots,  but  reserved  as  a 
public  place  or  park.  The  lots  south  of  Garden 
street  had  an  area  of  80  feet  front  and  170  in 
depth.  North  of  that  street  they  were  192  feet 
square,  known  as  arpent  or  Garden  lots,  and 
numbered  to  correspond  with  those  lying  south 
of  Garden  street,  which  were,  strictly  speaking, 
town  lots.  In  order  to  furnish  each  familvwith 
a  garden  spot,  each  grantee  of  a  town  lot  was 
entitled,  upon  the  condition  of  improvement,  to 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  63 

receive  a  conveyance  of  an  arpent  lot  of  the 
same  number  as  his  town  lot. 

That  plan,  which  was  the  work  of  Elias 
Durnford,  appointed,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
Juh',  1764,  civil  engineer  of  the  province,  is  still 
the  plan  of  the  old  part  of  Pensacola,  with  some 
changes  in  what  was  the  English  park,  or 
public  place;  and  therefore  the  plan  of  the  town 
is,  strictly  speaking,  of  English  origin. 

The  park,  however,  though  excluded  from 
private  ov^nership,  w^as  not  intended  to  be  va- 
cant, but  on  the  contrary,  was  devoted  to  pub- 
lic uses.  In  the  centre  of  it  w^as  a  star-shaped 
stockade  fort,  designed  as  a  place  of  refuge  for 
the  population  in  case  of  an  Indian  attack. 
Near  it  were  the  officers'  quarters,  barracks, 
guard  house,  ordinance  store-house  and  lab- 
oratory, two  pow^der  magazines,  the  King's 
bake-house,  cooperage  shelter,  and  government 
store-house.  This  park  w^as,  therefore,  in  the 
early  da^^s  of  Pensacola,  the  liveliest  and  busiest 
part  of  the  town. 

The  star-shaped  fort  was,  from  1764  until 
after  1772,  the  only  fortification  of  the  town, 
as  may  be  inferred  from  the  official  report  of 


64.  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Captain  Thomas  Sowers,  engineer,  on  the  fifth 
of  April  of  the  latter  year. 

The  first  street  pushed  through  the  crescent- 
shaped  swamp,  was  George  street,  involving 
much  labor  in  building  a  causeway  and  cover- 
ing it  with  earth.  It  extended  to  the  elevation, 
then  named  Gage  Hill,  in  honor  of  General  Gage, 
of  Boston  memory,  and  who,  as  the  command- 
er-in-chief of  all  the  royal  forces  in  the  British 
North  American  colonies,  had  much  to  do  wnth 
Pensacola  in  its  early  days.  Upon  the  highest 
point  of  this  hill  was  established  a  lookout 
from  which  the  approaches  of  the  town  land- 
ward and  seaward  could  be  observed. 

Governor  Johnstone,  v^ho  was  a  commodore 
in  the  royal  navy,  in  the  second  year  of  his  ad- 
ministration, found  himself  in  jarring  relations 
with  the  military,  resulting  from  circumstances 
which,  at  this  distance  of  time,  seem  to  be  trifles, 
but  magnified,  when  they  occurred,  into  im- 
portance by  that  jealous  sensitiveness  which 
appears  to  exist  alwa3^s  between  those  two 
arms  of  the  public  service.  As  might  be  expected, 
whisperers,  busybodies,  and  parasites,  throng- 
ing the  seat  of  patronage,  ready  to  catch  any 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  65 

stray  crumo  of  official  favor,  aggravated  the 
conflict,  which  at  last  became  so  bitter  and 
widespread  that  we  find  it  figuring  in  the  records 
of  the  courts-martial  of  a  major,  a  lieutenant, 
and  even  an  ensign.  Naturally,  too,  the  colonists 
at  length  became  partisans  of  the  official  strife, 
thereby  contributing  to  bring  about  a  condition 
of  affairs  rendering  the  governor's  further  con- 
tinuance in  office  so  uninviting  to  himself  and 
so  unsatisfactory  to  the  people  that,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1766,  he  resigned. 

An  incident  which  occurred  shortly  after  his 
appointment,  manifests  his  impatience  of  criti- 
cism— a  weakness  w^hich  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  his  troubles  in  Florida.  He  and  Grant, 
governor  of  East  Florida,  were  appointed  at 
the  same  time  by  the  Bute  administration,  w^hen 
Scotch  appointees  to  office  were  so  ill-favored 
by  the  English.  The  announcement  were  made 
in  the  North  Briton  with  a  sarcastic  allusion  to 
them  as  a  brace  of  Scotchmen.  At  this  John- 
stone was  so  much  incensed  that  he  sent  to  the 
publishers  what  was  equivalent  to  a  challenge. 
Moreover,  on  meeting  with  a  Mr.  Brooks,  who 
was  connected  with  the  North  Briton,  John- 


66  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

stone  insisted  on  his  stating  whether  he  was  the 
author  of  the  article.  Brooks  refusing  to  an- 
swer, Johnstone  drew  his  sword  to  use  on  him 
when  by-standers  interfered.  Brooks  instituted 
legal  proceedings  under  which  the  governor  was 
bound  to  keep  the  peace. 

In  after  j-ears,  Johnstone  became  a  member  of 
Parliament,  and  attracted  much  attention  by 
casting,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  one  of  the 
only  two  negative  votes  on  the  Boston  Harbor 
Bill,  Edmund  Burke  casting  the  other.  His 
course  on  that  memorable  occasion  secured  him 
such  consideration  with  the  Americans  as  to 
induce  the  British  government  to  sielect  him  as 
one  of  the  five  commissioners  who  were  sent  to 
America  in  1778,  under  Lord  North's  concilia- 
tory bill,  intended  to  concede  to  the  colonies  all, 
and  even  more,  than  they  had  demanded  at  the 
beginning  of  the  controversy  with  the  Mother 
country.  But  the  sequel  of  his  mission  proved 
his  unfitness  for  the  position.  Besides  ventur- 
ing to  enter  into  correspondence  with  Robert 
Morris  and  Francis  Dana,  he  attempted,  through 
a  lady,  to  bribe  General  Joseph  Reed  of  Pennsyl- 
vania by  an  offer  of  £10,000  and  the  highest 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  67 

office  within  the  gift  of  the  crown  in  America  in 
the  event  his  efforts  at  conciliation  proving  suc- 
cessful. To  that  offer  Reed  made  the  memorable 
reply :  "I  am  not  worth  purchasing,  but  such  as 
I  am  the  King  of  Great  Britain  is  not  rich 
enough  to  do  it." 

The  other  commissioners,  Mr.  Eden,  General 
Clinton,  and  Lord  Carlisle,  at  least,  disavowed 
all  knowledge  or  connection  with  Johnstone's 
course.  His  conduct  became  the  subject  of  reso- 
lutions passed  by  Congress,  in  which  it  was  de- 
clared :  ''  That  it  is  incompatible  with  the  honor 
of  Conoress  to  hold  anv  manner  of  intercourse 
with  the  said  George  Johnstone,  especially  to 
negotiate  with  him  upon  affairs  in  which  the 
cause  of  liberty  is  interested." 

From  that  reflection  he  sought  to  vindicate 
himself  by  an  ill-tempered  address,  which  was 
followed  by  his  resignation  from  the  commis- 
sion. 

Though  a  Scotchman,  he  seems  in  this  affair 
to  have  acted  with  more  of  the  impulse  of  a 
Frenchman,  like  Genet,  than  with  the  cool  delib- 
eration characteristic  of  his  race.  Though  he 
had  been  a  commodore  in  the  British  navv,  after 


68  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

his  appointment  of  governor  of  West  Florida 
his  historical  designation  is  '*  Governor  John- 
stone." 

B\'  virtue  of  his  being  lieutenant-governor, 
Monteforte  Brown  became  Johnstone's  succes- 
sor. 

The  troops  stationed  at  Pensacola  during 
Governor  Johnstone's  time  were  the  Thirty-first 
regiment  of  infantry  and  the  second  battalion  of 
Royal  Artillery,  under  General  Taylor.  In  1765, 
these  troops  suffered  from  scurvy,  as  a  remedy 
for  which  the  governor  undertook  means  to 
provide  them  with  fresh  meat,  a  provision  which 
it  would  seem  a  thoughtful  and  considerate 
ruler  would  have  employed  as  a  preventive,  in- 
stead of  waiting  until  disease  required  it  as  a 
remedy. 

The  scourge,  however,  proved  a  blessing  in 
the  end,  as  our  ills  often  do,  by  turning  attention 
to  the  necessity  of  securing  regular  supplies  of 
vegetable  food,  the  acids  of  which  science  had 
determined  to  be  the  preventive  of  scorbutic 
affections.  This  led  to  the  clearing,  draining 
and  cultivation  of  large  bodies  of  the  Titi 
Swamp,  a  process  which,  once  begun,  was  con- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  69 

tinued  throughout  the  period  of  English  rule, 
until  the  town  was  surrounded  by  smiling 
gardens,  extending  westward  almost  to  Bayou 
Chico,  of  which  this  generation  has  evidence  in 
the  absence  of  forest  from  the  district  and  its 
meadow-like  appearance,  as  well  as  its  intersec- 
tions of  choked  up  ditches  and  drains. 

In  October,  1766,  there  was  an  exhibition  in 
Pensacola  of  the  cruelty  with  which  the  British 
soldier  was  treated  in  the  last  centur3\  For 
absence  without  leave,  James  Baker  Mattross 
of  the  Royal  Artillery  received  100  lashes  under 
sentence  of  a  court-martial.  Harsh  as  this  sen- 
tence may  seem,  it  was  mild  and  humane  com- 
pared with  what  was  inflicted  in  other  instances 
at  other  militarj^  posts.  Soldiers  of  the  Royal 
American  regiment,  stationed  at  Detroit,  were 
punished  for  rioting,  as  follows  :*  James  Wilk- 
ins,  Derby  McCaffn}-,  and  Sargeant  Deck  1000 
lashes  each,  whilst  fortunate  Corporal  Saums 
escaped  with  only  500,  but  who,  even  in  his 
luck,  was  yet  five  times  less  lucky  than  the 
roval  artillervman  at  Pensacola.    These  terrible 


Canadian  Archives  (Haldimand  Collection ),  B.  22.  p.  262. 


70  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

inflictions  provoke  inquiry  as  to  the  dermal  tex- 
ture of  the  backs  of  the  British  soldiery  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

With  the  possibility  of  such  suffering  before 
them,  we  can  appreciate  the  joy  with  w^hich 
Richard  Harris  of  the  Thirty-first  regiment, 
charged  with  stealing  chickens,  and  Lewis  Crow 
on  trial  for  selling  liquor,  who  were  tried  by 
court-martial  at  the  same  time  as  Mattross, 
received  their  respective  findings  of  not  guilty. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  71 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

General  Bouquet — General  Haldimand. 

Early  in  1765  General  Henry  Bouquet  hav- 
ing been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
southern  military  district  of  the  colonies,  of 
which  Pensacola  was  the  headquarters,  sailed 
from  Philadelphia  in  a  small  schooner  for  that 
place.  He  arrived  there  in  the  early  spring, 
and  on  the  following  September  died.*  Of  the 
day  and  cause  of  his  death  nothing  seems  to  be 
known.  Of  the  fact  that  his  grave  was  marked 
by  a  monument,  there  is  the  most  conclusive 
pro  of.  t 

Where  is  that  monument  ?  That  time  and  the 
elements  are  responsible  for  its  disappear- 
ance is  improbable.     That    it    is   not  even  a 


*Kingford's  History  of  Canada,  Vol.  V.,  p.  110. 

fA  statement  of  the  English  grey  bricks  used  in  the 
monument  exists  in  the  Canadian  archives  at  Ottawa, 
dated  February  1,  1770.    Haldimand  Papers,  K.  15,  p.  84-. 


72  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

subject  of  tradition  suggests  the  painful  sus- 
picion that  it  was  willfully  destroyed;  a  sug- 
gestion which  explains  the  absence  of  all  memor- 
ials of  the  people  who  must  have  died  in  Pensa- 
cola  during  the  nearly  twenty  years  of  the  British 
dominion,  and  removes  from  their  generation  the 
reproach  of  having  had  no  respect  for  the  mem- 
ory and  ashes  of  their  departed  friends  and 
comrades. 

An  exodus  of  the  English  occurred  in  1783,  as 
a  future  page  will  show,  like  that  of  the  Span- 
iards in  1763  already  mentioned.  The  town 
was  filled  by  a  new  and  strange  population, 
whose  needs  for  building  material  were  urgent, 
and  their  reverence  for  the  dead  too  feeble,  per- 
haps, to  resist  the  temptation  of  supplying 
their  wants  by  plundering  tombs  deserted  by 
their  natural  guardians. 

Nature,  too,  conspired  with  man  in  the  work 
of  desecration.  The  necropolis  of  the  English 
was  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  town,  ex- 
tending southward  and  embracing  a  slight 
bluif  on  the  Bay.  From  1860  to  1870  the  water 
abraded  that  place,  washing  out  human  bones, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  73 

and  thus  compelled  the  earth  to  surrender  its 
'dead  to  the  sport  of  the  waves. 

General  Bouquet  was  born  at  RoUe,  in  the 
canton  of  Berne,  Switzerland.  That  he  attained 
so  high  a  rank  is  evidence  of  his  merit.  His 
masterly  campaign,  in  1763,  against  the  Ohio 
Indians,  including  the  Delawares,theShawnees, 
and  Mingoes,  as  related  by  the  classic  pen  of  Dr. 
Kingsford,  in  his  History  of  Canada,*  is  a  most 
interesting  and  striking  chapter  of  our  colonial 
annals.  The  result  was  the  removal  of  a  terri- 
ble scourge  from  the  western  borders  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,  and  the  restoration  to 
liberty  and  to  friends  of  three  hundred  white 
men  and  women  by  a  treat}-,  the  terms  of 
which  were  left  to  the  discretion  of  General 
Bouquet  by  General  Gage.  So  highly  appreci- 
ated were  his  skill  and  courage  at  the  time  that 
both  colonies  honored  him  with  votes  of  thanks 
for  his  ''great  services,"  which  were  supple- 
mented by  a  compHmentary  letter  from  the 
king. 

But  the  royal  letter  and  his  promotion  were 


♦Volume  v.,  pp.  93-113. 


74  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

only  Dead  Sea  apples .  Their  result  was  a  voyage 
in  a  small  vessel  to  the  distant  shores  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  he  was  to  die  in  a  few 
months  in  a  little  garrison  town  with  his 
laurels  vet  fresh  on  his  brow,  awav  from  the 
friends  and  that  admiring  social  circle  he  had 
left  so  recently  at  Philadelphia.  Had  he  been 
the  son,  or  cousin,  whether  first,  second  or  third, 
would  have  mattered  not,  of  a  minister,  he 
would  have  won  a  pension  and  obtained  an 
enviable  appointment. 

General  Bouquet  was  not  only  a  distinguished 
soldier,  but  he  also  left  behind  him  another 
claim  to  distinction  in  the  thirt}^  volumes  of 
manuscript  in  the  British  museum,  known  as  the 
** Bouquet  Collection,"  which  now  calendared 
is  available  to  the  historical  student. 

His  monument  has  perished^  his  bones,  per- 
haps, have  been  the  sport  of  the  unpitying 
waves ;  generations  have  unconsciously  tram- 
pled on  his  dust;  but,  in  **the  Pantheon  of 
histor}^"  his  name  and  his  fame  are  as  fresh  as 
when  on  these  shores  he  drew  his  last  breath 
and  heaved  his  last  sigh. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  75 

A  letter*  from  his  confidential  friend  Ourry 
inspires  the  suspicion  that  a  romantic  passion, 
nourished  by  exile  and  inaction,  contributed  to 
his  early  death.  He  was  devoted  to  a  Miss 
Willing  of  Philadelphia,  and  supposed  to  be  her 
affianced.  A  Mr.  Francis,  a  wealthy  Londoner, 
wooed  and  won  the  lady  whilst  the  soldier  was 
winning  laurels  on  the  western  frontier.  But 
for  vandal  hands  his  tomb  would  be  a  shrine 
where  disappointed  love  could  make  its  votive 
offerings. 

General  Frederick  Haldimand  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  General  Bouquet  in  the  command  of 
the  southern  district.  He,  too,  was  a  Swiss, 
and  a  native  of  the  Canton  of  Berne.      He  had 


*J'ai  lu  mon  cher  ami,  et  rehi  avec  attention  votre  triste 
lettre  du  premier,  et  suis  sensiblement  touche  de  votre  etat. 
Je  vois  que  votre  esprit  agit^,  comme  la  mer  aprps  une  rude 
secousse  de  tremblement  de  terre,  n'a  pas  encore  repris  son 
assiette.  Je  n'avois  que  trop  bien  pr^vu  I'effet  funeste; 
pliit  a  Dieu  que  je  I'eusse  aussi  bien  pu  prevenir !  .  ,  .  Je 
suis  attendri  du  recit  tonchant  que  vous  me  faites  de  votre 
situation  douloureuse,  et  je  vous  conjure  par  ce  que  vous 
tenez  du  plus  cher  et  de  plus  sacr^,  de  ne  vous  pas  laisser 
aller  k  la  merci  d'une  passion  qui  vous  mene,  et  qui  vous 
privera  bientot,  si  vous  n'y  prenez  garde,  des  moyens  qui 
vous  restent  encore  pour  la  dompter  (Kingsford  Hist,  of 
Can.,  Vol.  v.,  p.  110). 


76  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

held  important  commands  in  Canada  before  he 
came  to  Florida.  In  1773  he  was  appointed 
governor  of  New  York.  In  the  same  3^ear,  dur- 
ing General  Gage's  absence  in  England,  he  was 
commander-in-chief  of  the  colonies.  He  was, 
from  1778  to  1784,  governor-general  of  Canada. 
To  the  qualities  of  a  distinguished  soldier,  he 
added  ability  for  civil  affairs  and  the  statesman- 
like qualities  which  great  crises  sometimes  re- 
quire in  a  military  commander,  as  appears  from 
Lord  Dartmouth's  correspondence  with  him 
during  Gage's  absence.* 

There  is  an  interesting  coincidence  in  the  lives 
of  Bouquet  and  Haldimand.  Drawn  to  each 
other,  doubtless,  by  the  tie  of  nativity  and  pro- 


*  I  trust  the  designs  of  those  who  have  apparently  from 
self-interested  motives  endeavored  to  spread  an  alarm,  and 
create  fresh  disturbances  in  consequence  of  the  importa- 
tion of  tea  by  the  East  India  company  will  prove  abortive. 

.  .  .  In  the  present  state  of  uncertainty  with  regard  to 
what  maj'^  be  the  issue  of  this  disagreeable  business,  I  can- 
not sa3'  more  to  you ;  and,  indeed,  the  sentiments  you  have 
expressed  in  your  former  dispatches  in  respect  to  the  pro- 
priety or  impropriety'-  of  employing  a  military  force  in  case 
of  civil  commotion  are  so  just,  and  your  conduct  in  that 
delicate  situation  so  temperate  and  prudent,  as  to  render 
any  particular  instructions  from  me  on  that  head  unneces- 
sary. Dartmouth  to  Haldimand — Canadian  Archives.  Series 
B.,  Vol.  35,  p.  64. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  <   t 

• 

fession,  similarity  of  disposition,  interests  and 
fortunes,  a  life-long  friendship  was  the  natural 
consequence.  They  were  associates  in  land 
investments.  Bouquet  bequeathed  his  entire 
estate  to  his  native  brother-in-arms,  including 
the  valuable  collection  before  referred  to.  More 
fortunate  than  the  former,  the  latter  lived  to  be 
made  a  Knight  of  the  Bath,  and  to  die  in  his 
native  town  of  Yverdun.* 


*Kmgsford's  Hist,  of  Can.,  Vol.  4,  p.  318. 


78  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Governor  Elliott — Social  and  Military'  Life  in  Pensacola — 
Gentlemen— Women —  Fiddles  —  George  Street  —  King's 
Wharf  on  November  14,  1768. 

There  exists  evidence  in  the  Canadian  archives 
that,  in  July,  1767,  Mr.  Elliot  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Governor  Johnstone,  but  careful 
search  has  failed  to  discover  any  official  act 
upon  which  to  rest  the  conclusion  that  he  ever 
came  to  the  province. 

In  a  note  dated  eighteenth  of  October,  1768, 
at  Pensacola,  General  Haldimand  tells  Gov- 
ernor Brov^n  that  '^assistance  will  be  given  to 
land  Governor  Elliot's  baggage,  and  put  the 
garden  in  order,"  in  answer,  evidently,  to  a  re- 
quest of  Governor  Brown,  made  in  expectation 
of  the  new  governor's  early  arrival.  But  these 
preparations  were  manifestly  made  in  vain,  for 
in  a  letter  written  at  Pensacola,  in  January, 
1769,  by  the  general  to  Mr.  John  Bradley  of 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  79 

New  Orleans,  he  says :  ''I  hope  that  these  mat- 
ters will  be  settled  on  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Elliot,  daily  expected."  And  numerous  papers 
in  the  Canadian  archives,  as  well  as  documents 
in  the  American  state  papers,  show  that  from 
the  eighteenth  of  December,  1766,  up  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  Governor  Peter  Chester,  in  1772, 
Brown  was  the  acting  governor  of  the  province. 
The  evidence  is  therefore  conclusive  that  though 
Elliot  was  appointed,  he  either  died  or  resigned 
without  ever  having  gone  to  the  province. 

The  coming  of  officers  and  others  from  the 
military  posts  of  the  province  to  headquarters, 
as  well  as  the  frequent  courts-martial  held  there, 
especially  numerous  and  exciting  in  1766-7, 
enlivened  military  life  at  Pensacola. 

Of  the  social  life  of  the  town  during  John- 
stone's and  Brown's  administrations,  we  have 
but  little  information.  If,  however,  the  opinion 
of  an  official  high  in  rank  is  to  be  accepted  as 
evidence,  gentlemen  were  not  numerous  up  to 
1767,  as  will  be  seen  from  an  extract  from  a 
letter  of  his  to  a  friend  :  ''A  ship  lately  arrived 
from  London,  has  brought  over  the  chief  justice 
and  the  attorney-general  of  the  province,  and 


80  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Other  gentlemen,  who  are  very  much  wanted ^ 
But  who  are  and  who  are  not  gentlemen?  Let 
the  moralist,  the  sectarian,  partisan,  votary  of 
sport  or  fashion,  dude,  friend,  enem^^  the  preju- 
diced, the  just,  the  harsh,  and  the  charitable 
successively^  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  same  man; 
what  a  very  chameleon  in  character  will  he  not 
appear,  as  he  is  reviewed  by  each  of  his  judges? 
Of  this  variety  of  judgments,  an  occurrence,  at 
Pensacola  during  this  period,  is  illustrative. 

Major  Farmer  of  the  Thirty-fourth  regiment 
of  infantry,  stationed  at  Fort  Charlotte,*  was 
by  the  Johnstone  party  accused  of  embezzlement 
and  fraud.  But  a  court-martial  w^hich  sat  at 
Pensacola  honorably- acquitted  him,  and  upon  a 
review  of  the  record  the  finding  of  the  court  was 
approved  by  the  King. 

Another  letter,  in  1770,  gives  the  following  un- 
inviting picture  of  the  civil  as  well  as  the  social 
condition  of  the  place:  ** Pensacola  has  been 
justly  famed  for  vexatious  law-suits.  It  is  con- 
trived, indeed,  that  if  a  poor  man  owes  but  five 
pounds,  and  has  not  got  so  much  ready  money, 


Formerly  Fort  Conde  at  Mobile. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  81 

or  if  he  disputes  some  dollars  of  imposition  that 
may  be  in  the  account,  or  if  he  is  guilty  of  shak- 
ing his  fist  at  any  rascal  that  has  abused  him, 
he  is  sure  to  be  prosecuted,  and  the  costs  of 
every  suit  are  about  seven  pounds  sterling.  .  .  . 
I  have  know^n  this  province  for  a  little  more  than 
four  years,  yet  I  could  name  to  you  a  set  of  men 
who  may  brag  of  one  governor  resigned,  one 
horse-whipped  and  one  whom  they  led  by  the 
nose  and  supported  while  it  suited  their  purpose, 
and  then  betrayed  him.  What  the  next  turn  of 
affairs  will  be,  God  knows." 

Perhaps,  however,  the  writer  owed  a  shop- 
keeper who  sued  him ;  or  he  had  been  fined  for 
offering  violence  to  some  other  importunate 
creditor;  and  as  to  the  costs  of  litigation,  it  is 
likely,  that  in  this  year  of  grace  some  luckless 
litigant,  in  the  modern  Pensacola,  can  be  found 
who  would  heave  a  sympathetic  sigh  on  reading 
the  complaint  which  comes  to  us  from  a  suitor 
in  its  early  days. 

Besides,  the  reference  to  the  treatment  received 
by  three  governors,  in  a  letter  written  in  1770, 
is  rather  puzzhng,  for  though  three  governors 
had  been  appointed  for  West  Florida  up  to  that 


82  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

time,  but  two,  Johnstone  and  Brown,  adminis- 
tered its  government.  Johnstone  resigned  and, 
therefore,  Brown  must  have  been  the  man,  if 
any,  w^ho  was  horsewhipped  and  led  by  the  nose. 
As  ''led  by  the  nose,"  however,  is  a  metaphor, 
** horsewhipped"  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as 
a  figure  of  speech  likewise. 

Strange  though  it  be,  yet  so  it  is,  in  the  mass 
of  Pensacola  correspondence,  from  1763  to  1770, 
we  find  mention  made  of  military  officers  of 
every  grade,  governors,  secretaries,  surveyors, 
judges,  male  Indians,  ships,  boats,  bricks,  lum- 
ber, shingles,  wine,  swords,  muskets,  cheese, 
cannon  and  fiddles,  but  of  a  woman  or  any  of 
her  belongings,  never,  with  onl}^  two  exceptions. 

One  comes  to  us  like  an  attractive  mirage  on 
the  far-off"  horizon  of  this  Sahara  of  masculinity 
and  soulless  things  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Hugh 
Wallace  of  Philadelphia,  a  friend  of  General 
Haldimand,  in  respect  to  whom,  in  a  letter  to 
her  husband,  he  says :  *' I  beg  my  best  respects 
may  be  acceptable  to  Mrs.  Wallace."  The  other 
is  a  nameless  moral  w^reck,  of  whom  the  writer 
of  a  letter  exclaims :  ''I  wish  I  could  make  the 
mother  of  my  children  my  wife!"  forcing  upon 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  83 

the  imagination  the  shadow  of  a  wronged  wife, 
with  one's  heart  touched  b}^  the  probable  sor- 
rows of  a  blighted  life. 

But,  though  excluded  from  men's  letters,  we 
do  not  need  their  correspondence  to  inform  us 
that  wives,  mothers,  sisters  and  nurses  formed 
no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  population  of  Pen- 
sacola  in  those  early  days,  for  we  know  it  as 
certainly,  fully,  and  confidently  as  we  know^ 
the  town  must  have  been  blessed  with  air,  light, 
food,  and  all  the  other  vivifying  conditions  of 
human  existence. 

It  has  been  intimated  that  fiddles  were  the 
subject  of  correspondence,  and  thuswise.  It 
appears  that  General  Haldimandwas  the  owner 
of  two  fiddles.  Whether  fiddling  was  one  of  his 
accomplishments  does  not  appear.  But  as  own- 
ership of  one  fiddle  ordinarih^  creates  the  pre- 
sumption that  the  owner  is  a  performer  in  some 
one  of  the  three  degrees  of  good,  bad  or  indiffer- 
ent, the  ownership  of  two  would  seem  to  be 
conclusive  of  the  fact. 

However  that  may  be,  it  seems  that  Governor 
Thomas  Penn  of  Pennsylvania  had  knowledge 
of  the  instruments,  and,  presumabh',  knowing 


84  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

their  merits,  coveted  them  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  general  induced  him  to  pay  $360  for  them. 
As  the  bargain  was  made  by  letter,  after  the 
general  and  the  fiddles  had  been  in  Pensacola 
for  several  years,  we  may  infer  that  their  dulcet 
tones  must  have  made  a  deep  and  ineffaceable 
impression  upon  the  governor,  which  no  other 
fiddles  could  remove.  By  a  vessel  sailing  from 
Pensacola  to  Philadelphia,  the  general  sent  a 
box  containing  the  two  fiddles  to  Mr.  Joseph 
Shipping  of  that  place,  agent  of  Governor  Penn, 
and  also  a  letter  to  Hugh  Ross,  his  own  agent, 
whom  he  tells  (evidently  witH  the  chuckle  of  a 
trader  wHo  has  made  a  good  bargain)  of  the 
$360  he  is  to  collect  from  Shipping,  closing  the 
letter  with  the  exclamation,  "I  wish  I  had  more 
fiddles  to  sell!" 

Correspondence  in  1767  shows  courtesies  ex- 
changed between  Pensacola  and  Philadelphia. 
A  Pensacolian  sends  a  sea  turtle,  and  the  Phila- 
delphian  returns  a  cheese. 

The  town  was  accused  of  being  hot  and  inhos- 
pitable. But  the  letter  of  complaint  tells  what 
a  specific  wine  is  for  the  prevention  of  all 
climatic  diseases  and  the  other  ills  of  life.    One 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  85 

gentleman,  to  be  sure  of  a  supply  of  the  panacea, 
orders  a  pipe  of  old  Madeira. 

On  November  14,  1768,  we  are  walking  down 
the  east  side  of  George  street  from  the  gardens 
to  the  Ba}'.    After  passing  two  blocks  we  find 
ourselves  on  the  Public  Square  and  in  front  of  a 
large  building.    Going  in  and  out  of  that  build- 
ing are  many  people,  the  most  of  them  soldiers 
and  Indians,  and  somewhere  in  or  about  it  we 
find  a  Mr.  Arthur  Neil.    Upon  inquiry  we  are 
informed  the  building  is  the  king's  store-house, 
and  Mr.  Neil  its  keeper.    Leaving  the  store,  a 
short  walk  brings  us  to  the  shore  and  after- 
wards to  the  king's  wharf,  which  we  see  covered 
with  troops,  some  of  them  getting  into  boats, 
whilst  others,  already  embarked,  are  going  to 
a  ship  lying  at  anchor.    That  ship  is  the  Pensa- 
cola   bound   for   Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
The  troops  are  the  Thirty-first  regiment,  lateK- 
stationed  at  Mobile,  whence  they  have  just  ar- 
rived, after  an  overland  march,  for  the  purpose 
of  embarking  in  the  Pensacola.    Whether  they 
shall  remain  at  Charleston  in  winter  quarters 
will,  according  to  a  letter  of  General  Haldi- 


86  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

mand  to  Colonel  Chisolm,  ''depend  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  Bostonians."* 


Can.  Archives,  B.  14,  pp.  31,  37,  41. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  87 


CHAPTER  X. 

Governor  Peter  Chester — Fort  George  of  the  British  and 
St.  Michael  of  the  Spanish— Tartar  Point— Red  Cliff. 

Peter  Chester,  having  been  commissioned 
governor  of  West  Florida  in  1772,  came  to  Pen- 
sacola,  the  capital  of  the  province,  and  entered 
upon  the  administration  of  the  office.  He  was 
recognized  and  deferred  to  by  General  Haldi- 
mand  as  a  man  of  capacity  and  experience,  a 
reputation  which  was  not  impaired  by  his  nine 
years'  rule  in  Florida. 

The  first  days  of  his  administration  were 
marked  by  a  determination  to  reform  the  public 
service,  and  to  supersede  the  old  star  fort  by 
more  stable  and  efficient  defenses  for  the  town 
and  harbor,  and  the  spirit  which  animated  him 
w^as  at  once  communicated  to  the  military  com- 
mander of  the  province. 

Early  in  his  administration,  after  much  dis- 
cussion by  engineers  of  several  plans  for  the  de- 


88  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

fense  of  the  town,  a  fort  was  built,  under  orders 
from  General  Gage,  on  Gage  Hill,  and  named 
Fort  George  for  his  majesty  George  III.* 

In  the  centre  of  the  fortress  was  the  council 
chamber  of  the  province  and  the  repository  of 
its  archives,  where  the  office  duties  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  the  military  commander  were  per- 
formed, where  audience  was  given  to  Indian 
chiefs  and  delegations,  and  where  really  centered 
the  government  of  West  Florida,  according  to 
its  English  boundaries. 

In  that  chamber  on  one  occasion  could  have 
been  seen  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  partly  in 
Indian  dress,  in  earnest  conversation  with  Gov- 
ernor ChCvSter  and  William  Panton,  the  million- 
aire and  merchant  prince  of  the  Florid  as.  By 
the  evident  admixture  of  white  and  Indian  blood 
in  his  veins,  his  skin  had  lost  several  shades  of 
the  hue,  his  hair  the  peculiar  stiffness,  and  his 
cheek  bones  somewhat  of  the  prominence  of 
those  of  his  aboriginal  ancestry.  He  was  tall 
and  slender ;  his  eyes,  black  and  piercing,  beamed 


*  Mr.  Fairbanks,  in  his  '  History  of  Florida,'  calls  the  fort 
St.  Michael ;  but  that  was,  in  fact,  a  name  bestowed  upon 
it  after  1783,  when  Florida  became  a  Spanish  colon5\ 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  89 

with  the  light  that  belongs  to  those  of  the  cul- 
tured ;  the  Indians  said  his  high  forehead  was 
arched  like  a  horse-shoe ;  the  fingers  which  hold 
the  pen  with  which  he  is  writing,  during  a  pause 
in  the  conversation,  are  long  and  slender;  he 
speaks  and  then  reads  what  he  has  written ;  all 
is  in  the  purest  English,  to  which  he  is  capable 
of  giving  point  by  an  apt  classical  quotation. 
On  a  future  occasion  he  will  enter  that  chamber 
with  the  commission  of  a  British  colonel.  A 
few  3'ears  later  he  will  hold  a  like  commission 
from  the  King  of  Spain.  A  fev/  years  later  still 
will  find  him  a  brigadier-general  of  the  United 
States.  That  man  is  Alexander  McGillivray,  of 
whom  much  is  to  be  written. 

In  that  chamber  three  men  were  once  seated 
at  a  table,  attended  by  two  secretaries  busih- 
writing,  one  in  English,  the  other  in  Spanish. 
One  of  the  three  is  Governor  Chester,  another  is 
General  John  Campbell,  a  distinguished  English 
officer  whom  fortune  has  just  deserted.  The 
third,  a  young-looking  Spaniard,  too  young  for 
his  insignia  of  a  Spanish  general,  is  Don  Ber- 
nardo de  Gal vez, 'the  governor  and  military  com- 
mander of  Louisiana.      Those   three  men  are 


90  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

closing  a  drama  and  writing  the  last  paragraph 
of  a  chapter  of  histor3\  The  two  papers  the 
secretaries  are  writing,  when  signed,  will  sepa- 
rate, one  going  to  London,  the  other  to  Madrid, 
to  meet  again  at  Versailles.  At  Versailles  they 
will  be  copied  substantially  into  the  duplicates 
of  the  treaty  of  1783  between  Spain  and  Great 
Britain,  and  constitute  its  V  Article. 

A  pigeon-hole  on  the  side  of  that  chamber  once 
contained  an  order  from  Lord  Dartmouth,  dated 
January,  1774,  to  the  commander-in-chief  of 
West  Florida,  to  forward  a  regiment  from  Pen- 
sacola  to  revolutionary  Boston  to  quell  the  tea- 
riots.  This  book  is  debtor  to  many  documents 
which  once  rested  in  other  pigeon-holes  of  the 
chamber. 

Fort  George  was  a  quadrangle  with  bastions 
at  each  comer.  There  w^ere  within  the  fort  a 
pow^der  magazine  and  barracks  for  the  garrison, 
besides  the  chamber  above  mentioned.  The 
woods  north  of  it,  for  an*  eighth  of  a  mile,  and 
within  a  curve  bending  around  it  to  the  bay, 
were  felled,  in  order  to  give  play  to  its  guns  land- 
ward, whilst  they  could  bear,upon  an  enemy  in 
the  bay  by  firing  over  the  town.    By  a  system 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  91 

of  signals,  intercommunication  was  kept  up  with 
Tartar  Point  and  thence  with  Red  CHff. 

Tartar  Point,  now  the  site  of  the  Navy  Yard, 
■where  a  battery  and  barracks  were  erected  by 
the  British,  is  the  only  existing  name  in  this 
part  of  West  Florida  which  carries  one's 
thoughts  back  to  the  days  of  British  rule.  The 
name  of  the  point  under  the  second  Spanish 
dominion,  which  lasted  about  forty  years,  was 
Puntade  la  Asia  Bandera— the  Point  of  the  Flag- 
staff. It  seems  strange  that  an  English  name 
w^hich  had  been  superseded  for  that  period  by  a 
Spanish  designation,  should  after  that  lapse  of 
time  be  restored. 

The  locality  of  Red  Cliff  was  for  a  time  a  puz- 
zle. Such  a  name  for  a  locality  at  once  induced 
a  search  for  a  suggestive  aspect.  No  red  blufl, 
however,  not  too  far  eastward  to  serve  as  the 
site  of  a  work  for  the  defense  of  the  town  or 
harbor,  could  be  found,  and  yet,  no  blulf  west- 
ward of  the  former  could  be  observed  to  suit  the 
designation.  But  at  length,  a  letter  in  the 
Canadian  archives  fixed  Barrancas  as  the  local- 
ity by  stating  that  there  was  at  about  the  dis- 
tance of  a  half  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Red 


92  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Cliff  a  powder  magazine,  built  by  the  Spaniards, 
capable  of  holding  500  barrels  of  powder,  which 
was  then  being  used  as  the  powder  depot  of  the 
province,  evidently  the  relic  of  old  San  Carlos, 
destroyed  by  the  French  in  1719,  and  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Fort  Redoubt. 

The  defenses  of  Red  Cliff  consisted  of  two  bat- 
teries, "  one  on  the  top  and  the  other  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill.''  There  were  quarters  for  the  officers 
and  barracks  for  the  soldiers  in  one  building,  so 
constructed  as  to  be  proof  against  musket  balls 
and  available  as  an  ample  defense  against  an 
Indian  attack.* 


*  Canadian  Archives — Rept.  of  T.  Sowers,  Capt.  Engineers 
Series  B.,  Vol.  XYII.,  page  302. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  93 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RepresentatiYe  Government. 

When  the  governments  of  West  and  East 
Florida  were  established,  as  before  related,  their 
governors  were,  severally , vested  with  authority, 
their  councils  consenting  and  the  condition  of 
the  provinces  being  favorable,  to  call  for  the 
election  of  general  assemblies  by  the  people. 

In  1773,  Governor  Chester  concluded  that  the 
time  had  arrived  when  it  would  be  expedient  for 
him  to  exercise  this  power.  He,  accordingly, 
issued  writs  authorizing  an  election,  fixing  the 
time  it  was  to  be  held,  the  voting  precincts,  the 
qualifications  of  voters,  and  the  number  and 
qualifications  of  assemblymen  to  be  chosen,  as 
well  as  the  day  of  the  sitting  of  the  general 
assembh^  at  Pensacola. 

But  the  writs,  unhappily,  fixed  the  terms  of 
assemblymen  at  three  years;  a  provision 
which  proved  fatal,  not  only  to  this  first  at- 


94  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

tempt,    but  likewise    to    all   future    efiforts  to 
establish  representative  government    in    West 
Florida.    The  election  was  held  throughout  the 
province,   and  the  members  of  a  full  general 
assembly  elected.      But  whilst  the  people  went 
to  the  polls  with    alacrity,   and    hailed    with 
pleasure  the  advent  of  popular    government, 
they  were  opposed  to  the  long  tenure  fixed  by 
Governor  Chester;  and  so  determined  was  that 
opposition  that  they  resolved  that  it  should  not 
receive    the    implied    sanction    of  their    votes. 
They  accordingly  cast  ballots  which  declared 
that  they  were  subject  to  the  condition  that  the 
representative  should  hold  for  one  year  only. 
To  that  condition  the  governor  refused  to  con- 
sent.    The  people,  on   the    other    hand,   were 
equally  unyielding  in  their  opposition.    Efforts 
were  made,  but  in  vain,  to  induce  a  concession 
by  one  side  or  the  other ;  consequently,  during 
the  following  years  of  English  dominion,  as  be- 
fore, the  province  kne^v  no  other  civil  govern- 
ment than  that  of  the  governor  and  his  council. 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  motives  which 
prompted  the  people  to  so  stubborn  an  opposi- 
tion.    The  tenure  of  three  years  might,  indeed, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  95 

seem  long  to  voters  who  had  probably  lived  in 
colonies,  where  it  was  a  third  or  two-thirds  less. 
But  still,  if  there  was  any  value  to  a  people  in 
representative  government,  surely  an  assembly 
holding  for  three  years  was  better  than  none ; 
especially  as  it  would  have  so  concentrated  the 
influence  and  power  of  the  community  as  to  en- 
able it  at  some  auspicious  conjuncture  to  re- 
move the  one  popular  objection  to  the  system. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  can  better  appreciate 
the  conduct  of  Governor  Chester.  An  English- 
man with  the  Tory  conservatism  of  that  day, 
he  w^ould,  naturally,  fear  the  effect  of  short 
terms  and  frequent  elections,  aside  from  econom- 
ical considerations.  All  the  northern  colonies 
were  in  a  state  of  ferment  bordering  on  revolu- 
tion, and  that  consideration,  doubtless,  intensi- 
fied his  opposition  to  anything  that  savored  of 
opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  king  or  his 
representatives.  Indeed,  from  his  stand-point, 
to  yield  to  the  popular  wishes  in  array  against 
his  own  will  and  judgment,  was  to  leaven  the 
province  with  a  pestilent  political  heresy  which 
was  seeking  to  substitute  the  power  of  the 
people  for  the  authority  of  the  crown. 


96  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Governor  Chester  seems  to  have  possessed 
superior  talents  for  government,  the  best 
evidence  of  which  is  found  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  colony  during  his  administration,  the 
harmony  that  existed  between  him  and  the 
military,  and  the  high  respect  and  deference  he 
received  from  General  Haldimand. 

Such  a  man,  conscious  of  his  rectitude  and 
good  intentions  towards  the  province,  evinced 
by  his  readiness  to  afford  it  the  privilege  of 
representative  government,  somewhat  at  the 
expense  of  his  own  authority,  would  naturally 
feel  that  the  condition  attached  to  the  ballots, 
and  adhered  to  with  much  insistance,  manifested 
such  a  want  of  confidence  in  him  as  to  justify 
his  distrust  of  the  people. 

But  what  Governor  Chester's  zealous  en- 
deavors could  not  accomplish  in  West  Florida, 
the  reluctant  efforts  of  Governor  Tonyn  achieved 
in  the  eastern  province.  In  1780,  the  latter, 
against  his  own  wishes,  and  solely  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  others,  called  for  the  election  of  a 
general  assembly.  The  call  having  been  promptly 
obeyed,  the  first  popular  representative  body  in 
Florida  met  at  St.  Augustine  in  January,  1781.* 

♦Fairbank's  Florida,  p.  232. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  97 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Growth  of  Pensacola — Panton,  Leslie  &  Co.— A  King  and 
the  Beaver — Governor  Chester's  Palace  and  Chariot — 
The  White  House  of  the  British,  and  Casa  Blanca  of 
the  Spanish — General  Gage — Commerce — Earthquake. 

There  is  evidence  of  great  improvement  in 
the  town  within  a  few  years  from  Governor 
Chester's  advent;  a  progress  which  was  acceler- 
ated as  the  revolution  in  the  Northern  Colonies 
advanced.  That  great  movement,  ever  widen- 
ing its  area,  extended  at  last  from  the  Gulf 
to  Canada,  leaving  no  repose  or  peace  for  those 
who,  living  within  it,  were  resolute  to  remain 
loyal  to  their  king. 

Some  entered  the  royal  military  service;  mul- 
titudes left  America,  and  others,  to  nurse  their 
loyalty  in  quietude,  removed  to  Florida. 
Though  most  of  that  emigration  went  to  East 
Florida,  yet  West  Florida,  and  especially  Pen- 
sacola, received  a  large  share.    St.  Augustine, 


98  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

however,  was  the  tor^'  paradise  of  the  revolu- 
tionary era.  She  can,  without  question,  supple- 
ment the  glory  of  her  antiquit}^  with  the  boast 
of  having  once  seen  her  streets  lighted  up  b}^  the 
blazing  effigies  of  John  Adams  and  John 
Hancock.* 

The  most  important  commercial  acquisition 
of  Pensacola  hy  that  tory  immigration  was 
William  Panton,  the  senior  of  the  firm  of  Pan- 
ton,  Leslie  &  Co.,  a  Scotch  house  of  great 
wealth  and  extensive  commercial  relations. 
They  had  an  establishment  in  London,  with 
branches  in  the  West  India  Islands.  During  the 
English  dominion  in  Florida  thej^  established 
themselves  in  St.  Augustine;  later,  during  Gov- 
ernor Chester's  administration,  at  Pensacola, 
and  afterwards,  at  Mobile.  Other  merchants 
also  came  to  Pensacola  about  the  same  time, 
attracted  principally  by  the  heav^^  disburse- 
ments of  the  government.  But  these  expendi- 
tures were  not  the  attraction  to  the  Scotchmen. 
Their  object  w^as  to  grasp  the  Indian  trade  of 
West  Florida.     A  building  which  they  erected 


*Fairbank's  History  of  Florida,  p.  223. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  99 

with  a  wharf  in  front  of  it  is  still  standing,  or  at 
least,  its  solid  brick  walls  are  now  those  of  the 
hospital  of  Dr.  James  Herron,  whose  dwelling 
house  stands  on  the  site  of  the  Council  Chamber 
of  Fort  George. 

In  that  building  was,  carried  on  a  business 
which  grew  steadily  from  year  to  year  during 
the  British  dominion,  and  afterwards  attained 
great  magnitude  under  Spanish  rule,  as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  notice  in  a  future  page.  In 
building  up  that  business,  Panton  had  a  most 
able  and  influential  coadjutor  in  General  Alex- 
ander McGillivray,  whom  we  lateh^  saw  in  the 
Council  Chamber  of  Fort  George.  Through 
him  their  business  comprehended  not  only  West 
Florida,  but  extended  to  and  even  beyond  the 
Tennessee  river.  In  perfect  security,  their  long 
lines  of  pack  horses  went  to  and  fro  in  that 
great  stretch  of  country,  carrying  all  the  sup- 
plies the  Indians  needed,  and  bringing  back 
skins,  peltry,  bees-wax,  honey,  dried  venison, 
and  whatever  else  their  savage  customers 
would  provide  for  barter.  Furs  were  a  large 
item  of  that  traffic,  for  the  beaver  in  those  days 


100  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

abounded  throughout  West   Florida,  and  was 
found  even  in  the  vicinity  of  Pensacola. 

One  of  their  ponds,  still  existing  on  Carpen- 
ter's Creek,  four  miles  from  the  town,  is  sugges- 
tive of  an  instructive  comparison  between  the 
fruits  of  the  life-work  of  its  humble  construc- 
tors, and  those  of  the  twenty  years  rule,  of  a 
might}^  monarch.  Of  the  British  dominion  of 
his  Majest}^  George  III,  in  this  part  of  Florida, 
the  millions  of  treasure  expended,  and  the  thous- 
ands of  lives  sacrificed  to  establish  and  main- 
tain it,  there  exists  no  memorial,  or  result, 
except  a  fast  disappearing  bank  of  sand  on  the 
site  of  Fort  George.  From  that  barren  outcome 
of  such  a  vast  expenditure  of  human  life  ana 
money,  we  turn  with  a  blush  for  the  vanity  and 
folly  of  man,  to  contemplate  that  little  pool 
fringed  with  fairy  candles,*  v^^here  the  water 
lilies  bloom,  and  the  trout  and  perch  flash  in  the 
sunlight,  as  the  memento  of    a  perished    race. 


"  A  name  which  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  have 
bestowed  on  the  bloom  of  a  water  plant,  suggested  by  its 
•wax  like  stem  and  its  yellow  point,  and  here  mentioned  to 
suggest  to  our  people  that  it  is  time  we  should  have  popu- 
lar designations  for'others  of  our  beautiful  wild  flowers. 


>  >      »    » 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  101 

whose  humble  labors  have   furnished  pastime 
and  food  to  successive  generations  of  anglers. 

An  unsuccessful  effort  has  been  made  to 
obtain  reliable  information  as  to  the  number 
and  description  of  the  houses  Pensacolacontain- 
ed  in  its  most  thriving  days  during  Governor 
Chester's  administration.  But  the  only  account 
v^^e  have,  is  that  of  William  Bertram,  who 
though  reputed  an  eminent  botanist  is 
hardly  reliable,  for  he  describes  Governor  Ches- 
ter's residence  as  a  '*  stone  palace,  with  a  cupo- 
la built  by  the  Spaniards;"  *  and  yet,  accord- 
ing to  the  description  of  the  town  in  Captain 
Will's  report,  at  the  close  of  Spanish  rule, 
it  consisted  of ''forty  huts  and  barracks,  sur- 
rounded by  a  stockade;"  and  he  witnessed  at 
that  time,  the  exodus  of  the  entire  Spanish  pop- 
ulation. Besides,  persons  whose  memories 
went  back  within  thirty  years  of  Governor 
Chester's  alleged  palatial  residence,  neither  saw, 
nor  even  heard,  of  the  ruins  of  such  a  structure. 

Upon  the  same  authority  rests  the  statement, 
that  the  Governor  had  a  farm  to  which  he  took 


Fairbanks  Florida,  p.  219. 


102  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

morning  rides  in  "his  chariot.  " '^^  But  a  travel- 
er whose  fancy  was  equal  to  the  transforma- 
tion of  a  hut  into  a  palace,  may  have  trans- 
formed his  excellency's  modest  equipage  into  a 
more  courtly  vehicle. 

It  is  probable, however,  that  although  Governor 
Chester  was  not  the  occupant  of  a  stone  palace 
wnth  a  cupola,  he  lived  in  a  sightly  and  comfort- 
able dwelling  built  of  brick  or  wood,  or  perhaps 
of  both.  One  such  dwelling  of  his  time,  that  of 
William  Panton,  was  familiar,  forty  years  ago 
to  the  elders  of  this  generation.  It  stood  near 
the  business  house  of  Panton,  Leslie  &  Co. 
Taking  its  style  and  solidity  as  a  guide,  there 
existed  several  houses  in  the  town  within  the 
last  half  century  that  could  be  identified  as 
belonging  to  Governor  Chester's  day. 

One  of  them  was  the  scene  of  a  tragedy ;  a 
husband  cutting  a  wife's  throat  fatally,  his  own 
more  cautiously,  or  perhaps  her  cervical  verti- 
brae  had  taken  off  the  edge  of  the  razor,  for  he 
survived.  Thereafter,  none  would  inhabit  it, 
and  consequently  it  rapidly  went  to  ruin.      It 


*Pickett,  Vol.  II.  p.  25. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  103 

stood  on  the  north  side  of  Government  street,  a 
block  and  a  half  from  Palafox.  A  jury  acquit- 
ted him.  Why?  No  one  could  conjecture, 
unless  because  she  was  his  wife,  and  therefore 
his  chattel,  like  the  cow  or  sheep  of  a  butcher. 

In  Governor  Chester's  time  there  existed  a  large 
double  story  suburban  residence,  which  was  a 
distinguished  feature  in  the  landscape  looking 
southwesterly  from  Fort  George,  or  from  any 
part  of  the  Bay.  It  stood  on  the  bluff  between 
the  now  Perdido  R.  R.  and  Bayou  Chico. 
Painted  white,  it  became  the  'Svhite  house"  of 
the  English,  and  ''Casa  Blanca"  of  the  Spanish 
dominion. 

It  was  the  home  of  a  family  of  wealth  and 
social  standing,  composed  of  three— husband, 
wife,  and  daughter,  the  latter  a  child.  Gardens 
belonging  to  it  covered  much  of  the  area  of  that 
meadow-like  district  already  mentioned.  That 
home  was  to  be  the  scene  of  a  drama  in  three 
acts;  the  death  of  a  child,  the  death  of  a  hus- 
band, and  a  struggle  of  strong,  martyriike 
womanhood  in  the  toils  of  temptation,  tried 
to  the  lowest  depth  of  her  being,  but  coming 
forth  triumphant. 


104  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

In  examining  the  calendar  of  the  Haldimand 
collection  by  Mr.  Douglas  Brymner,  Archivest 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  we  are  impressed 
with  the  great  and  varied  responsibility,  labor, 
and  care,  attending  the  office  of  commander  in 
chief  of  the  American  colonies,  especially  after 
Great  Britain's,  Canada,  Florida,  and  Louisiana 
acquisitions.  His  administration  involved  not 
merely  general  superintendence  of  the  military 
department,  but  likewise  embraced  the  minutest 
details  requiring  expenditures  of  public  money. 
We  accordingly  find  General  Gage,  during  Gov- 
ernor Chester's  administration,  dictating  letters 
in  respect  to  carpenter's  wages ""  in  Pensacola. 
Again  w^e  find  him  busy  over  a  controversy 
which  had  sprung  up  there  in  respect  to  the 
employment  of  a  Frenchman,  Pierre  Rochon,  f 
to  do  carpenter's  work,  and  furnish  shingles,  to 
the  exclusion  of  Englishmen.  Upon  economical 
grounds  his  excellency  decided  in  favor  of 
Rochon.  Pierre  was  evidently  an  active  and 
enterprising  man.    Before  he  came  to  Pensacola 

*  Canadian  Archives  B.  Vol.  15,  p.  267. 
tid.  15  p.  195. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  105 

to  secure  for  himself  all  the  public  carpentering 
and  shingle  business  there,  he  had  enjoyed  the 
like  monopoly  at  Mobile. 

Again  we  find  the  General  engaged  with  a 
small  matter  at  Red  Cliff.*  Lieutenant  Cambell, 
of  the  engineer  department,  had  furnished  some 
carpenters  who  were  employed  there  with 
candles  and  firewood,  doubtless  because  thev 
could  not  otherwise  be  procured  by  the  men. 
That  act  ofkindness  brought  the  benevolent  lieu- 
tenant the  following  scorching  reproof:  "I  am 
sorry  to  acquaint  you  that  his  excellency,  General 
Gage,  is  greatly  displeased  at  3'our  giving  of  the 
carpenters  candles  and  firewood;  and  he  desires 
to  know  by  what  authority  you  assumed  to 
give  those  allowances,  or  by  what  order  they 
were  given  ?  For  his  excellency  declares,  that  a 
shilling  shall  not  be  paid  on  that  account." 
New  York,  16  Feb.  1773.  S.  Sowers,  Captain 
of  Engineers. 

Even  the  quahty  of  bricks  used  on  the  public 
works  at  Pensacola  was  a  matter  of  interest  to 
the  commander  in  chief     In  1771,  a  brick  man- 

*Id.  17  p.  267. 


106  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ufactured  by  the  British,  and  one  by  the  Span- 
iards, nearly  a  century  before,  as  General  Haldi- 
raand  says,  were  sent  to  headquarters  at  New- 
York,  for  the  judgment  of  his  excellency  as  to 
their  comparative  merits. 

These  letters  impress  us  the  more  with  the  cares 
of  General  Gage,  when  we  reflect  they  were 
written  at  the  time  of  the  troublesome  tea  busi- 
ness at  rebellious  Boston;  and  when  the  flowing 
tide  of  the  revolution,  as  may  be  discerned  from 
almost  every  page  of  the  calendar,  was  daily 
rising,  and  threatening  to  sweep  away  the  sup- 
ports of  British  authority  in  the  colonies. 

In  a  former  page  mention  is  made  of  a  Phila- 
delphia lady,  whose  name  occurs  in  the  Pensacola 
correspondence  of  an  earlier  day.  It  is  but  fair, 
therefore,  that  we  should  not  leave  unnoticed 
a  New  York  lady  who  is  mentioned  in  letters  of 
Governor  Chester's  time ;  the  more  so,  because 
she  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  thrifty 
housewives,  who  do  not  entirely  depend  upon 
the  tin  can,  and  green  glass  jar  of  the  shop  to 
supply  their  families  with  preserved  fruits  and 
vegetables;  besides,  there  can  be  brought  in 
with  her  extracts  from  letters,  exemplary  of  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  107 

courtly  style,  with  which  in  Governor  Chester's 
day,  a  gentleman  returned,  and  a  lady  received 
his  thanks  for  a  small  courtesy.* 

General  Haldimand,  at  Penascloa,  writes 
Captain  S.  Sowers,  the  husband  of  the  lady, 
who  is  in  New  York  : 

"I  most  respectfully  ask  Mrs.  Sowers,  to  per- 
mit me,  through  you,  to  tender  to  her  my  most 
grateful  thanks  for  the  three  jars  of  pickels.  " 

The  Captain  replies:  **Mrs.  Sowers,  with 
pleasure,  accepts  your  thanks  for  the  pickels, 
and  when  ye  season  comes  for  curing  of  them, 
she  will  send  you  another  collection  which  she 
hopes  will  be  acceptable.  " 

In  this  stirring,  short-hand,  type-writing  age, 
the  form  of  a  like  exchange  of  courtesies  would 
probably  be :    '*  Pickels  received.     Thanks.  " 

Though  there  was  no  lack  of  lawyers  and 
doctors,  who  it  is  said,  lived  in  fine  style,  there 
was  a  sad  want  of  clergymen  or  preachers  in  the 
province.  There  was  but  one  of  whom  we  have 
any  account  up  to  1779,  and  he  was  stationed 
at  Mobile.       Stuernagel,    the    Waldeck    Field 


•Canadian  Archives  B.  Vol.   15  p.  161. 


108  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Preacher,  on  his  arrival  in  Pensacola,  in  that 
3'ear,  christened  a  boy  whose  parents  had  been 
waiting  eight  years  to  make  him  the  subject  of 
the  hoi}'  office.  He  also  baptized  men  who  had 
been  watching  from  their  bo3^hood  for  an 
opportunit}'  to  make  their  baptismal  vows. 
Nor  can  there  be  found  a  reference  to  church  or 
chapel  during  the  English  dominion.* 

The  most  prosperous  and  promising  days  Pen- 
sacola ever  saw,  except  those  since  the  close  of 
the  civil  war,  were  from  1772  to  1781.  As  the 
American  revolution  advanced,  additions  w^ere 
made  to  the  numbers,  intelligence  and  v^realth 
of  its  population,  owing  to  causes  already  men- 
tioned. It  was  the  capital  of  a  province  rich  in  . 
its  forests,  its  agricultural  and  other  resources. 
Its  Bay  was  prized  as  the  peerless  harbor  of  the 
Gulf,  which  it  was  proposed  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment to  make  a  great  naval  station,  a 
beginning  in  that  direction  having  been  made 
by  selecting  a  site  for  a  navy  yard  adjoining  the 
town  to  the  westward.  Its  commerce  was 
daily  on  the  increase;  not  only  in  consequence 


Von  Elking  Vol.  11  p.  139. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  109 

of  the  extension  of  Panton,  Leslie  &  Co.'s  trade 
with  the  Indians,  but  other  enterprising  mer- 
chants who  had  been  added  to  the  population, 
were  engaged  in  an  export  trade,  comprising 
pine  timber  and  lumber,  cedar,  salt  beef,  raw 
hides,  cattle,  tallow,  pitch,  bear's  oil,  staves, 
shingles,  honey,  beeswax,  salt  fish,  myrtle  wax* 
deer  skins,  dried  venison,  furs  and  peltry.  This 
trade,  and  the  £200,000  annually  extended  by 
the  British  government,  as  well  as  the  disburse- 
ments of  the  shipping,  constituted  the  sources 
of  the  prosperity  of  the  town. 

This  period,  besides  being  a  season  of  growth 
and  prosperity  to  Pensacola,  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  the  Province,  was  one  of  repose,  undisturbed 
by  the  march  of  armies,  battles,  and  the  other 
cruel  shocks  of  war  that  afflicted  the  northern 
colonies.  But  it  was  not  to  remain  to  the  end 
a  quiet  spectator  of  the  drama  enacting  on  the 
continent.  It,  too,  had  an  appointment  with 
fate.  Though  not  even  a  faint  flash  of  the 
northern  storm  was  seen  on  its  horizon,    yet 


*  This  is  the  product  of  the  wild  m3'rtle,  obtained  by  putting? 
the  seed  into  hot  water,  when  the  wax  liquifies  and  floats 
on  the  surface. 


110  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

there  had  been  one  for  long  brooding  for  it  in 
the  southwest. 

The  earthquake,  too,  that  visited  it  on  the 
night  of  Februar}^  6,  1780,*  was  but  a  presage 
of  that  which  on  May  8, 1781,  was  to  shake  it  to 
its  center;  and  prove  the  signal  of  an  exodus  of 
the  English  almost  as  complete  as  was  that  of 
the  Spanish  population  in  1763. 


*Oii  the  sixth  of  Febuary  1780,  at  night,  a  fearful  storm 
arose  with  repeated  thunder  and  lightning.  An  earth- 
quake was  accompanied  by  such  a  violent  shock,  that  in 
the  barracks  the  regimentals  and  the  arm  racks  fell  from 
the  walls  in  a  great  many  places,  and  everything  was 
moved  in  the  rooms.  The  doors  were  sprung,  chimneys 
were  thrown  together,  and  from  the  fires  burning  on  the 
hearths,  a  conflagration  threatened  to  burst  forth. 
Neighboring  houses  clashed  together,  and  those  buried  in 
the  ruins  cried  for  help.  The  sea  foamed  and  raged  ;  the 
thunder  continually  rolled.  It  was  a  terrible  night.  Only 
towards  one  o'clock,  the  raging  elements  in  some  measure 
again  became  subdued.  Wonderful  to  relate,  no  human 
life  was  lost.  "—Von  Elking,  Vol.  11,  p.  144. 


COLONIAL  FBORIDA.  Ill 


CHAPTER  XTII. 

MiHtar\'  Condition  of  West  Florida  in  1778 — General  John 
Campbell — The  Waldecks — Spain  at  War  with  Britain — 
Bute,  Baton  Rouge  and  Fort  Charlotte  Capitulate  to 
Galvez — French  Town — Famine  in  Fort  George — Gal- 
vez's  Expedition  against  Pensacola — Solana's  Fleet 
Enters  the  Harbor — Spaniards  Effect  a  Landing — Span- 
ish Entrenchment  Suqjrised — The  Fall  of  Charleston 
Celebrated  in  Fort  George. 

The  military  condition  of  West  Florida  was 
changed  as  the  revolutionary  war  progressed. 
There  were  no  longer  seen  two  or  more  regi- 
ments at  Pensacola,  one  or  two  at  Mobile,  and 
one  at  Fort  Bute,  Baton  Rouge,  and  Panmure. 
The  call  for  troops  for  service  in  the  northern 
colonies  had,  by  the  latter  part  of  1778,  reduced 
the  entire  effective  force  of  the  province  to  five 
hundred  men. 

That  such  a  reduction  was  thought  prudent, 
was  due  to  the  peaceful  relations  of  the  Span- 
iards and  the  British,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
latter  with  the  Creek  and  Choctaw  Indians,  at- 


112  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

tributable  to  the  influence  of  McGillivray,  now 
a  colonel  in  the  British  service. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1778,  however,  the 
British  government  becoming  suspicious  of 
Spain,  and  anticipating  her  alliance  with 
France,  ordered  General  Clinton  to  reinforce 
West  Florida.  Accordingly,  General  John 
Campbell,  a  distinguished  oflicer,  was  sent  to 
Pensac'ola,  with  a  force  of  1,200  men,  composed 
of  a  regiment  of  Waldecks,  and  parts  of  two 
regiments  of  Provincials  from  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania.  They  did  not  arrive,  however, 
until  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  1779.* 


*  It  is  to  the  presence  of  these  Waldecks  at  the  siege  and 
capture  of  Pensacola,  that  we  are  indelited  for  the  only  de- 
tailed account  we  possess  of  those  events.  The  Waldeck 
regiment  was  one  of  the  many  mercenary  bodies  of  German 
troops  which  Great  Britain  hired  to  conquer  her  revolted 
colonies.  On  the  return  of  the  commands  to  Gennanj', 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  each  commander  was  required  to 
make  to  his  government  a  detailed  report  of  its  experiences. 
In  1863,  Max  Von  Elking  published,  at  Hanover,  two  vol- 
umes containing  the  substance  of  those  reports,  entitled : 

["Die  deutchen  Hiilfstruppen  im  Nordamerikanischen 
Befrenings  Kriege,  1776  bis  1783.  "  ] 

The  German  Troops  in  the  North  American  War  of  Inde- 
pendence, 1776  to  1783. 

Those  of  the  Waldecks  extended  from  the  day  the  regi- 
ment was  completed  at  Corbach,  where  it  was  reviewed  by 
the  widowed  Princess  of  Waldeck,  and  her  court  ladies, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  113 

Early  in  17^0,  General  Campbell  sent  two 
companies  of  Waldecks  to  reinforce  Fort  Bute, 
which  brought  its  garrison  up  to  about  500 
men  under  the  command  of  Lt.  Colonel  Dickson. 

At  length  Spain  threw  off  the  mask,  and 
adopted  a  course  which  justified  the  suspicions 
of  the  British  Court  as  to  her  inimical  inten- 
tions. On  June  16,  the  Spanish  minister,  the 
Marquis  d'  Almodovar,  having  dehvered  to 
Lord  Weymouth  a  paper  equivalent  to  a  dec- 
laration of  war,  immediately  departed  from 
London  without  taking  leave.  Spain  thereupon 
became  an  ally  of  France,  but  not  of  the  United 
States.  Nevertheless,  under  the  influence  of  the 
Court  of  Versailles,   Don  Bernardo  de  Galvez, 

on  May  9,  1776,  up  to  the  return  of  its  small  remnant 
in  17S3.  The  princess  entertained  them,  and  furnished 
them  besides  100  guelden  for  a  jollification— doubtless  out 
of  the  hire  she  received  for  the  hapless  creatures.  The  re- 
mark of  a  courtier,  that  he  would  see  "  all  those  who  came 
back  riding  in  carriages,"  indicates  the  delusive  hopes  with 
which  it  was  sought  to  inspire  them.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
thought  prudent  by  the  Princess,  that  the  departing  mer- 
cenaries should,  to  prevent  desertion,  l)e  guarded  during 
their  journey  to  the  llescr,  where  they  were  to  embark,  by 
the  Green  Regiment  of  Sharpshooters.  The  regiment  con- 
sisted of  640  men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Yon 
Hanuxleden.  Stuernagel  was  the  Field  Preacher,  or  chaj> 
lain,  to  whose  journey  Von  Elking  makes  many  references. 


114  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  on  June  19, 
published,  at  New  Orleans,  the  proclamation 
of  the  Spanish  King,  acknowledging  the 
independence  of  the  United  States.  The  dates 
of  these  transactions  furnish  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  a  pre-arrangement,  designed  to 
enable  the  Spaniards  to  assail  the  British 
posts  in  West  Florida  before  they  could  be 
succored  by  the  home  government. 

In  pursuance  of  that  polic}^  Galvez  at  once 
began  his  preparations  for  offensive  operations 
against  Forts  Bute,  Baton  Rouge  and  Pan- 
mure,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  mention- 
ed. The  great  distance  of  Pensacola  from  them, 
as  well  as  the  want  of  facilities  of  communica- 
tion, assured  him  that  with  an  adequate  force 
at  his  command,  General  Campbell's  first  inti- 
mation of  his  operations  w^ould  be  the  news  of 
their  capture. 

In  August,  with  a  force  of  2,000  men,  Galvez 
began  his  advance  on  Fort  Bute.  As  soon  as 
Dickson  was  informed  of  his  movement,  he  re- 
solved to  concentrate  his  forces  at  Baton  Rouge, 
leaving  at  the  former  post  a  few  men  to 
man  the  guns,  and  to  make  such  a  show  of 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  11 


O 


resistance  as  would  give  him  time  to  perfect  the 
defenses  of  the  latter. 

On  August  30,  Galvez  appeared  before  Bute. 
After  a  contest  of  some  hours,  its  handful  of  de- 
fenders arrested  his  movements  by  the  time  con- 
sumed in  an  honorable  capitulation.  Bute  hav- 
ing been  secured,  Galvez  pushed  on  to  Baton 
Rouge.  In  his  first  attack,  he  was  repulsed 
with  the  heavy  loss  of  400  men  killed  and 
wounded,  which  was  within  100  of  Dickson's 
entire  force.  In  the  next  attack  which  was 
made  on  the  following  day,  the  Spanish  loss 
was  150.  Although  the  loss  on  his  side  was  in 
both  attacks  only  50  men,  Dickson  realizing 
that  he  was  cut  off  from  all  succor,  and  that  he 
must  either  surrender,  or  see  his  command  grad- 
ually waste  away  under  the  repeated  attacks 
of  an  overwhelming  enem}',  capitulated  upon 
the  most  honorable  terms.  The  command  was 
pledged  not  to  fight  against  Spain  for  eighteen 
months  unless  sooner  exchanged.  With  loaded 
guns  and  flags  flying  the  garrison  was  to  march 
to  the  beat  of  the  drum  500  paces  from  the  fort 
and  there  stack  arms.  The  officers  were  to  re- 
tain their  swords  and  every   one  his  private 


116  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

property.  All  were  to  be  cared  for  and  trans- 
ported to  a  British  harbor  by  the  Spaniards.* 
Fort  Panmure,  from  which  the  garrison  had 
been  withdrawn  for  the  defense  of  Baton  Rouge, 
was  included  in  the  surrender. 

It  was  not  until  the  twentieth  of  October  that 
a  courier  brought  to  Pensacola  intelligence  of  the 
fall  of  the  Mississippi  Posts,  although  Baton 
Rouge  had  surrendered  during  the  first  days  of 
September.  When  it  was  received  it  was  not 
credited,  but  regarded  as  a  false  report  coming 
from  the  Spaniards  to  entice  the  British  com- 
mander from  Pensacola  in  order  that  it  might 
be  captured  in  his  absence.  Even  the  report  of 
a  second  courier  coming,  on  the  twenty-third, 
failed  at  first  to  work  conviction;  but  at  last 
all  doubt  was  dispelled,  and  every  effort  directed 
to  putting  Pensacola  in  a  defensive  condition. 

Why  Galvez  did  not  follow  up  his  success  at 
Baton  Rouge  by  an  immediate  advance  on 
Mobile,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive,  except  upon 
the  presumption  of  his  ignorance  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  military  forces  there,  and  at  Pensa- 
cola. 


*Von  Elking,  Vol.  11,  p.  142. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  117 

In  December,  1779,  Clinton's  expedition 
against  Charleston  sailed  from  New  York;  its 
destination  veiled  in  such  secrecy,  that  even 
General  Washington,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 
world  outside  of  the  British  lines,  was 
in  the  dark  respecting  it.  Aliralles,  the  Spanish 
agent,  feared  it  was  intended  to  recover  the  con- 
quests of  Galvez  in  West  Florida,  and  signified 
so  much  in  a  letter  to  General  Washington.  By 
the  time  the  letter  was  received,  however,  the 
General  had  become  convinced  "that  the  Caro- 
linas  were  the  objects,  "  and  in  reply  so  tells  the 
Spanish  agent. 

It  was  during  the  interval  of  Galvez's  inaction 
between  the  capture  of  Baton  Rouge,  and  his 
attack  on  Mobile,  that  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne 
had  a  conference  with  General  Washington,  on 
the  fifteenth  of  September,  1789,  at  West  Point, 
with  the  view  of  bringing  about  such  concert  of 
m.ovement  in  the  American  forces  in  the  Caro- 
linas  and  Georgia,  and  the  Spanish  forces  in 
Florida,  as  would  be  a  check  on  the  British  in 
their  movements  against  either.  *      But  with 


Sparks,  Vol.  6,  p.  542. 


118  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ever\^  disposition  for  such  co-operation,  the  lat- 
ter being  without  authority  to  that  end,  went 
no  further  than  to  show  his  sympathy  with 
the  Spaniards,  and  his  readiness  to  afford  ad- 
vice and  information,  which  he  afterwards  man- 
ifested in  the  letter  to  Miralles  above  mentioned. 

In  that  letter,  referring  to  the  capture  of  Fort 
Bute  and  Baton  Rouge,  he  says :  "I  am  happy 
of  the  opportunity  of  congratulating  you  on  the 
important  success  of  His  Majesty's  arms.  "  Itis 
hardly  probable,  however,  that  General  Wash- 
ington would  have  been  so  ready  to  congratu- 
late Miralles  on  those  successes,  had  he  known 
that  in  consequence  of  Galvez's  bad  faith,  their 
result  would  be  to  increase  the  ranks  of  the  foe 
he  was  fighting. 

In  the  beginning  of  March,  1780,  Galvez 
again  began  militarj^  operations,  by  advancing 
against  Fort  Charlotte.  On  the  twelfth,  after 
his  demand  for  a  surrender  had  been  refused  by 
Captain  Durnford,  the  British  commander,  the 
fort  was  assailed  by  six  batteries. 

B}^  the  fourteenth,  after  a  conflict  often  days, 
a  practicable  breach  having  been  made,  Durn- 
ford capitulated  upon  the  same  terms  which 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  119 

Dickson  had  exacted  at  Baton  Rouge.  Hunger 
had  conspired  with  arms  to  make  capitulation 
a  necessity.  For  several  days  before  that  event 
the  garrison  had  been  comparatively  without 
food.  When  the  gallant  Durnford  marched  out 
of  the  breach  at  the  head  of  a  handful  ofhunger- 
smitten  men,  Galvez  is  said  to  have  manifested 
deep  mortification  at  having  granted  such 
favorable  terms  to  so  feeble  a  foe.  An  effort 
was  made  by  General  Campbell  to  relieve  Fort 
Charlotte,  but  it  fell  just  as  succor  was  at  hand. 
The  delay  in  rendering  it  was  occasioned  by 
rain  storms,  which,  having  flooded  the  country, 
greatly  impeded  the  movements  of  the  reliev- 
ing force.  * 

The  gallant  defense  of  Fort  Charlotte  by  Durn- 
ford seems  to  have  lead  Galvez  to  reflections 
which  ended  in  the  conclusion  that  he  was  not, 
then,  strong  enough  to  attack  Pensacola.     He, 


*  Von  Elking,  Vol.  11,  pp.  144-5.  "  It  proved  a  horrible 
^  march.  It  almost  continually  rained.  The  men  were  forc- 
ed to  wade  up  to  their  ankles  through  the  soft  ground,  or 
through  mud.  It  was  only  possible  to  cross  the  greatly 
swollen  streams  by  means  of  the  trunks  of  the  trees.  The 
men  could  only  pass  singly  on  them,  and  the  one  who  miss- 
ed his  footing,  and  stept  into  the  water  below  was  irretriev- 
ably lost. " 


120  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

accordingly,  made  no  further  movement,  until 
he  had  procured  from  Havana  a  supply  of 
heavy  artiller\%  and  a  large  additional  force. 

That  it  was  a  part  of  his  plan  to  advance 
upon  Pensacola  immediately  after  the  capture 
of  Mobile,  is  evidenced  b}'  the  Spanish  Admiral 
Solana's  fleet  appearing,  and  anchoring  ofl*the 
harbor,  on  March  27,  hovering  about  as  if  in 
expectation  of  a  signal  from  the  land  until  the 
thirtieth,  and  then  sailing  away.  The  appearance 
of  a  scouting  party  of  Spaniards  about  the  same 
time,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Perdido,  likewise 
pointed  to  such  a  design. 

Be  that  as  it  mav,  Galvez  made  no  further 
movement  in  West  Florida  until  February,  1781, 
the  eventful  year  of  the  great  American  rally ;  the 
year  that  witnessed  Morgan's  brilliant  victory, 
on  the  seventeenth  of  January  at  the  Cowpens; 
and  Green's  masterly  strategy,  culminating  on 
the  fifteenth  of  March  at  Guildford  Court 
House  in  an  apparent  defeat,  but  in  sequence,  a 
victory,  for  it  sent  Cornwallis  to  Yorktown  for 
capture  on  the  nineteenth  of  October. 

As  we  contemplate  that  year,  big  with  the 
fate  of  empire  on  this  continent,  the  imagina- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  121 

tion  is  captivated  by  the  spectacle  of  a  line  of 
battle  extending  from  the  northern  limits  of 
Maine  to  ihe  mouth  of  the  Mississippi ;  the  in- 
tense points  of  action  being  Cowpens,  Guildford 
Court  House,  Pensacola  and  Yorktown. 

That  no  reinforcement  was  sent  to  General 
Campbell,  although  the  fall  of  Fort  Charlotte 
was  a  warning  that  Galvez's  next  effort  would 
be  against  Pensacola,  manifests  the  strain 
which  Britain's  contest  with  her  colonies  and 
France  had  brought  upon  both  her  naval  and 
militar\^  resources.  When,  therefore,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1781,  Gal vez  was  aboutto  advance  against 
the  place  with  a  large  fleet  and  an  army  of  15,- 
000  men,  according  to  the  lowest  estimate,  the 
British  force  numbered  about  1,000""  regular 
troops,  besides  some  provincials. 

The  British  looked  for  some  aid  from  the 
Creek,  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  Indians.  It 
ivas  a  body  of  the  latter  which  drove  the  vSpan- 
ish  scouts  across  the  Perdido  shortly  after  the 
capture  of  Mobile. 
The  three  tribes  were  loyal  to  their  white 

*Von  Elking,  Vol.  II.,  p.  152. 


122  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

allies,  even  when  the  latter  were  no  longer  able 
to  furnish  them  with  their  customary  supplies. 
The  Spaniards,  on  the  other  hand,  with  ever^'- 
thing  to  offer  them,  utterly  failed  to  shake  their 
British  loyalty.  As  illustrative  of  their  devo- 
tion, it  is  related  when  the  Wal decks  landed  at 
Pensacola,  the  Indians,  inferring  from  their 
strange  language  that  they  were  enemies,  in- 
clined to  attack  them.  They  had  the  prudence, 
however,  to  call  upon  Governor  Chester  for  an 
explanation.  After  he  had  satisfactorily  an- 
swered the  question  "whether  the  men  of 
strange  speech  were  the  friends  or  foes  of  their 
Great  White  Brother  on  the  other  side  of  the 
big  water,"  they  inanifested  great  joy  and  hon- 
ored the  strangers  ^with  a  salute  from  their 
rifles. 

When,  however,  the  advance  on  Pensacola  by 
the  Spaniards  was  abandoned  in  the  spring  of 
1780,  and  thence  up  to  the  followingDecember 
General  Campbell  found  his  savage  allies  rather 
an  encumbrance  than  a  benefit.  That  time  was 
devoted  to  strengthening  Fort  George  and  the 
defenses  of  the  harbor,  a  labor  in  which  no 
reward  could  induce  them  to  assist.     The  excit- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  123 

ing  occupation  of  taking  Spanish  scalps,  for 
which £3*  were  paid,  however,  was  one  in  which 
they  could  render  a  barbarous  service  to  the 
British. 

The  Indians  w^ere  under  the  command  of  a 
Marylander,  formerly  an  ensign  in  the  British 
army,  who,  whilst  stationed  at  Pensacola,  had 
been  cashiered  for  misconduct.  He  afterwards 
went  to  the  Creek  Nation,  where  he  married  the 
daughter  of  a  chief.  Though  vainly  styling  him- 
self General  William  Augustus  Bowles,  he  was 
content  to  accept  restoration  to  his  rank  of 
ensign  as  a  reward  for  the  service,  which,  at  the 
head  of  his  band  of  Creeks,  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws,  he  was  expected  to  render  to  the 
British  during  Galvez's  operations  in  West 
Florida. 

In  the  latter  months  of  1780,  Pensacola  and 
the  garrison  of  Fort  George  were  on  the  point 
of  starvation.  All  the  resources  of  the  British 
government  seem  to  have  been  required  for  the 
great  struggle  of  1781  on  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  Galvez's  conquest  had  cutoff  the  customary 


Von  Elking.  Vol.  II.,  p.  140. 


124  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

supplies  from  the  rich  countr}'  lying  between 
Mobile  Bay  and  the  Mississippi. 

Field-preacher  Stuemagel  says  in  his  journal : 
*'  This  morning  we  drank  water  and  ate  a  piece 
of  bread  with  it.  At  mid-day  we  had  just  noth- 
ing to  drink  but  water.  Our  evening  meal  con- 
sists of  a  pipe  of  tobacco  and  a  glass  of  water. 
A  ham  was  sold  for  seven  dollars.  A  pound  of 
tobacco  cost  four  dollars.  A  pound  of  coffee 
one  dollar.  The  men  have  long  been  without 
rum.  From  hard  service,  and  such  want,  dis- 
eases were  more  and  more  engendered."* 

But  that  state  of  want  was  suddenly  changed 
to  superabundance.  A  British  cruiser  captured 
in  the  gulf  a  number  of  merchant  vessels  loaded 
with  supplies,  embracing  ''rum,  meal,  coffee, 
sugar  and  other  welcome  provisions,"  and  an- 
other exclusively  with  powder. f  Not  long 
afterwards  a  more  brilliant,  although  not  as 
useful,  a  prize  was  captured.  It  contained 
$20,000  in  coin,  a  large  collection  of  silver-plate, 
fine  wines,  "all  sorts  of  utensils  for  the  kitchen 
and   things  of   the  same  kind,   being  General 


*  Von  Elking,  Vol.  II.,  p.  146. 
t  Id.  147. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  125 

Galvez's  outfit  and  requirements"  for  his  in- 
tended campaign  of  1781.*  Fortune  thus 
feasted  and  gilded  the  victim  for  the  coming 
sacrifice. 

Having  perfected  the  defenses  of  Fort  George, 
General  Campbell  turned  his  attention  to  Red 
Cliff,  in  which,  on  November  19,  he  placed  a 
small  garrison  of  50  Waldecks,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Pentzel,  at  the  same  time  pro- 
viding it  with  some  heavy  artillery,  which  could 
be  spared  from  Fort  George. 

Apparently,  tired  of  waiting  for  Galvez's  at- 
tack, or  presuming  from  his  delay  in  making  a 
movement  that  he  had  abandoned  the  intention 
of  attacking  Pensacola,  General  Campbell  sent 
an  expedition  against  a  Spanish  post,  on  or 
near  the  Mississippi,  called  French  Town  by 
the  British.  The  force  consisted  of  100  in- 
fantry of  the  Sixtieth  regiment,  and  60  Wal- 
deckers,  besides  300  Indians,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Hanxleden,  the  senior  officer  of  the 
Waldecks,  and  next  in  command  to  General 
Campbell.    It  was  an  unfortunate  enterprise, 

♦Von  Elking,  Vol.  II.,  p.  149. 


126  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES   OF 

resulting  in  the  death  of  the  gallant  Hanxleden, 
as  well  as  other  veteran  officers  and  soldiers 
who  were  soon  to  be  greatly  needed  at  Pensa- 
cola.  In  the  retreat,  the  body  of  their  brave 
commander  was  borne  by  his  men  from  the  field 
of  battle  to  a  large  oak  in  its  vicinity  under  the 
shade  of  which  it  was  buried.  Gratefully  did 
the  Waldecks,  on  their  return  to  German}^  re- 
member and  record  the  chivalric  conduct  of 
*'the  gallant  Spaniards  who  honored  fallen 
ofallantrv  bv  enclosino^  the  oTave  with  a  rail- 
ing."*  On  January  9  the  remnant  of  the  expe- 
dition reached  Fort  George. 

On  the  ninth  of  March  General  Campbell's 
impatient  waiting  for  Galvez  v^as  brought  to 
a  close.  On  that  day  a  preconcerted  signal  of 
seven  guns  from  the  war-ship  Mentor  told  the 
British  that  the  Spaniards  were  at  last  ap- 
proaching for  the  final  struggle  for  master}^  in 
West  Florida. t  B^^  9  o'clock  of  the  next  morn- 
ing, thirty-eight  Spanish  ships,  under  Admiral 
Solana,  were  h^ing  off  the  harbor,  or  landing 
troops  and  artillery.    During  the  night  a  British 


*Von  Elking,  Vol.  II.,  p.  148. 
tVon  Elking,  Vol.  II.,  p.  148. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  127 

vessel  glided  out  of  the  harbor  with  dispatches 
to  the  commandant  of  Jamaica,  pleading  for 
reinforcements,  which  however  were  not  to  lie 
had,  for  the  movements  of  de  Grasse  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  required  all  the  attention  of  the 
British  navy,  whilst  Comwallis  and  Clinton 
had  drawn,  or  were  drawing,  there  every  avail- 
able man  to  meet  the  great  American  rally. 

On  March  11,  the  Spaniards  opened  fire  upon 
the  Mentor  J  then  \y'mg  in  the  harbor,  from  a 
batterj' on  Santa  Rosa  island.  She  replied  to 
the  attack  until  she  had  received  28  shots  from 
twenty-four  pound  guns,  when  she  retired  near- 
er the  town. 

After  this  affair  there  were  no  further  move- 
ments by  the  Spaniards  until  the  eighteenth, 
when  a  brig  and  two  galleons,  taking  advan- 
tage of  a  very  favorable  wind,  sailed  past  the 
batteries  defending  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
without  receiving  any  perceptible  injury.  Think- 
ing the}'  might  sail  up  to  the  town,  and  find 
cover  from  some  structures  on  the  beach,  Gen- 
eral Campbell  caused  them  to  be  burned  down. 

On  the  nineteenth,  the  entire  Spanish  fleet, 
excepting  a  few  vessels,  sailed  past  the  batter- 


128  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ies,  though  subjected  to  a  heavy  fire  from  Red 
Cliff,  which  lasted  for  two  hours. 

Galvez,  even  after  he  found  himself  in  posses- 
sion of  the  harbor  with  a  fleet  of  38  vessels,  and 
a  large  land  force,  consisting  not  only  of  troops 
brought  directly  from  Havana,  but  those  also 
with  which  he  had  captured  the  posts  west  of 
the  Perdido,  sent  to  Havana  for  reinforcements ; 
and  remained  inactive  until  they  reached  him 
on  April  16.  The  reinforcement  consisted  of 
eighteen  more  ships,  and  an  additional  land 
force,  with  heavy  siege  artillery. 

Whilst  awaiting  that  addition  to  his  strength, 
a  landing  was  attempted.  The  attempt  was  re- 
sisted by  a  body  of  Indians  and  a  part  of  the 
garrison  of  Fort  George  with  two  field  pieces 
ofartiller3\  The  Spaniards,  taken  by  surprise, 
were  driven  to  their  boats.  In  the  attack  many 
were  killed,  and  in  the  confusion  of  re-embarking 
others  w^ere  drowned.  On  April  22,  however, 
a  second  and  successful  attempt  to  land  was 
made  by  the  invaders,  followed  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  camps  where  batteries  were  to  be 
erected. 

One  ofthe  camps,  nearer  the  Fort  and  the  town 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  129 

than  the  others,  bj'  its  temerity  invited  rebuke. 
Accordingly,  a  surprise  for  it,  to  be  executed  on 
the  twenty-third,  was  prepared,  but  defeated  by 
a  fanatic.  On  the  night  of  the  twenty-second, 
a  Waldeck  private  reported  to  his  captain,  that 
a  Waldeck  corporal  was  missing,  under  circum- 
stances which  implied  desertion;  that  the  de- 
serter was  a  Catholic,  the  only  one  in  the  regi- 
ment, the  rest  being  Protestant ;  and  that  it  had 
been  suspected  by  his  comrades  that  his  fanat- 
icism would  lead  him,  on  the  first  opportunity, 
to  desert  to  his  co-religionists.  That  the  sus- 
picion was  well  founded  was  manifested  by  the 
movements  of  the  enemy  the  next  morning. 

The  enterprise,  however,  though  arrested,  was 
not  abandoned.  The  British  commander,  shrewd- 
ly calculating  on  the  improbability  in  the  ene- 
my's conception,  that  a  surprise  defeated  on  the 
twenty-third  would  be  attempted  on  the  twenty 
fifth,  actually  executed  the  mo  vement  on  the  lat- 
ter day.  The  attacking  force,  composed  of  apart 
of  the  garrison,  and  a  body  of  Indians,  was  com- 
manded by  the  general  in  person.  The  Spaniards 
were  driven  from  their  entrenchments  with 
considerable  loss,  and  their  works  hastily  de- 


130  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

stroved.  This  proved,  however,  the  last  ag- 
gressive act  of  the  British.  By  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  April,  batteries  mounted  with  heavy 
siege  artiller}'  completely  invested  Fort  George. 
On  the  twenty-fourth,  the  day  before  the  at- 
tack on  theSpaniards,  General  Campbell  learned 
for  the  first  time,  that  Charleston  had  been  cap- 
tured by  General  Clinton  on  the  eleventh  of  May, 
1780.  We  are  not  informed  of  the  channel  through 
which  the  information  came  to  him;  but  as  it 
could  not  have  come  by  sea,  it  must  have  reached 
him  through  the  Indians,  who  obtained  it,  pro- 
ably,  from  traders  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  His 
ignorance  for  nearl}^  a  year  of  so  important  an 
event  impresses  us  w4th  his  isolation,  and  the 
courage  with  which  he  bore  it.  The  event  was 
duly  celebrated  in  Fort  George  by  an  illumina- 
tion and  a  discharge  of  rockets. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  131 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Fort  San  Bernardo— Siege  of  Fort  George — Explosion  of 
Magazine — The  Capitulation — The  March  Through  the 
Breach— British  Troops  Sail  from  Pensacola  to  Brook- 
lyn. 

The  Spanish  operations  against  Fort  George 
were  conducted  with  extreme  caution.  What, 
in  the  beginning,  was  one  of  a  circle  of  intrench- 
ments,  developed  into  a  fort  as  extensive  and 
strong  as  the  former.  Like  Fort  George,  it  was 
built  of  earth  and  timber.  Its  position  was 
about  one-third  of  a  mile  to  the  northward 
of  the  latter.  During  its  construction  it  was 
hidden  from  observation  by  a  dense  pine  forest 
and  undergrowth,  which,  after  its  completion, 
were  cleared  to  give  play  to  its  guns.  It  was 
named  San  Bernardo,  for  the  patron  saint  of 
the  Spanish  commander. 

The  magnitude  of  San  Bernardo  indicated 
that  it  must  have  been  constructed  for  exigen- 
cies besides  that  of  assailing  the  British  works. 


132  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Galvez  probably  feared  an  attack  in  his  rear 
from  the  Indians  coming  to  the  relief  of  their 
allies,  or  that  he  might  have  to  encounter  a 
relieving  expedition  coming  by  sea.  In  either 
event  his  fortress  would  be  a  place  of  security 
for  his  supplies  and  a  rallying  point  in  case  of 
disaster. 

The  siege  was  a  struggle  between  two  forts, 
with  the  advantage  to  one  of  them  in  being 
supported  by  intrenchments  which  with  itself 
formed  a  circle  around  its  antagonist.  The 
latter  began  the  contest. 

Among  the  works  constructed  by  the  British 
to  strengthen  their  position,  was  a  redoubt, 
named  Waldeck.  On  April  27,  a  Spanish  in- 
trenchment  was  seen  to  be  in  the  course  of  con- 
struction opposite  to  Waldeck,  under  cover  of 
the  woods.  Against  that  intrenchment  the  be- 
sieged directed  a  heavy  fire,  but  wnth  little  effect, 
as  the  work  was  nearly  completed  when  discov- 
ered. This  attack  upon  the  besiegers  was  the 
signal  for  all  their  batteries  to  open  fire  upon 
Fort  George  and  its  defenses. 

The  firing  was  incessant  on  both  sides  until 
May  1,  when  that  of  the  British  was  almost 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  133 

entirely  suspended,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
the  garrison  to  make  some  indispensable  repairs 
on  their  works.  On  the  second,  however,  the 
British  guns  were  again  in  full  pla^^ 

But  the  demand  for  repairs  was  so  continu- 
ous and  urgent  as  to  impose  a  heavy  tax  upon 
the  limited  numbers  of  the  besieged.  Short  re- 
liefs frOm  dut}'  became  a  stern  necessit}-,  and 
Avant  of  rest,  as  well  as  overexertion,  so  im- 
paired their  strength  that  men  were  seen  fall- 
ing prostrate  beside  their  guns  from  fatigue 
and  exhaustion. 

Galvez's  failure  to  storm  the  British  works, 
during  the  silence  of  their  guns  on  Mav  1, 
seemed  to  indicate  his  determination  to  reduce 
the  contest  to  the  question,  how  long  the  am- 
munition of  the  besieged  would  last  and  their 
artillery  remain  serviceable  ?  He  may,  however, 
have  regarded  the  suspension  of  the  British 
firing  as  a  strategem  to  invite  an  assault. 

There  was  a  vital  spot  in  the  defenses  for 
which  the  Spanish  shot  and  shell  had  been 
vainly  seeking— the  powder  magazine.  But  as 
the  gunners  were  without  requisite  information 
to  enable  them  to  procure  its  range,  it  was  but 


134?  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

a  wild  chance  that  a  shell  would  strike  it.  That 
its  position  was  not  drawn  from  the  Waldeck 
corporal,  is  an  impeachment  of  the  military 
sagacity  of  the  Spanish  officers,  and  an  act  of 
gross  negligence  which  would  have  prolonged 
the  siege  indefinitely,  but  for  an  imprudence  of 
the  British  commander  equally  as  gross. 

A  provincial  colonel  for  infamous  conduct — of 
what  character  we  are  uninformed — was  drum- 
med out  of  the  Fort,  instead  of  being,  as 
prudence  required,  carefulh^  kept  within  it  dur- 
ing the  siege.  The  man,  as  should  have  been 
expected,  went  to  the  Spaniards  and  informed 
them  of  the  condition  of  the  garrison  and  de- 
fenses, and  especialh^  of  the  angle  in  which  the 
magazine  was  situated.  That  disclosure  sealed 
the  fate  of  Fort  George.  Thenceforward,  that 
angle  became  the  mark  of  every  Spanish  shot 
and  shell.  For  three  days  and  nights  did  those 
searching  missiles  beat  upon  it,  until  at  last  on 
the  morning  of  May  8,  there  occurred  an  ex- 
plosion that  shook  Gage  Hill  to  its  deep  foun- 
dations as  though  once  again  in  the  throes  of 
an  earthquake. 

A   yawning  breach   was  made  in  the  Fort. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  135 

Fifty  men  were  killed  outright  and  as  many 
more  wounded  fatalh'  and  otherwise. 

At  that  thunder-like  signal  15,000  men  are 
marshalled  for  the  assault.  But  there  is  no 
panic  in  Fort  George.  Calmly  the  British  com- 
mander orders  every  gun  to  be  charged,  and 
many  to  be  moved  so  as  to  sweep  the  breach. 
That  work  done,  he  hoists  a  white  flag  and 
sends  an  officer  under  another  to  the  Spanish 
general  with  a  communication,  which  doubtless 
had  been  prepared  in  anticipation  of  the  conjunc- 
ture in  which  he  at  last  found  himself.  It  was 
an  offer  to  capitulate  upon  the  following  terms: 
"The  troops  to  march  out  at  the  breach  with 
fiying  colors  and  drums  beating,  each  man  with 
six  cartridges  in  his  cartridge  box ;  at  the  dis- 
tance of  500  paces  the  arms  were  to  be  stacked; 
the  officers  to  retain  their  swords;  all  the 
troops  to  be  shipped  as  soon  as  possible,  at  the 
cost  of  the  Spaniards  to  a  British  port,  to  be 
designated  by  the  British  commander,  under 
parole  not  to  serve  against  Spain  or  her  allies, 
until  an  equal  number  of  the  same  rank  of 
Spaniards,  or  the  troops  of  her  allies,  were  ex- 
changed by  Great  Britain ,  and  the  best  care  to 


136  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

be  taken  of  the  sick  and  wounded  remaininjr 
behind,  who  were  to  be  forwarded  as  soon  as 
the}'  recovered. " 

Knowing  that  those  were  the  terms  which 
the  gallant  Dickson  and  Dumford  had  demand- 
ed and  obtained  at  Baton  Rouge  and  Mobile, 
the  spirit  in  which  General  Campbell  dictated 
the  terms  of  the  capitulation  can  be  readily  im- 
agined. To  submit  to  less  than  had  been  con- 
ceded to  his  inferior  officers  would  be  dishonor. 

Galvez  answered,  that  the  terms  proposed 
could  not  be  conceded  without  modification. 
General  Campbell  replied  that  no  modification 
was  permissible ;  adding,  that  in  case  they  were 
not  conceded  he  would  hold  "the  Fort  to  the 
last  man."  That  bold  reply  was  followed  by 
the  consent  of  Galvez  to  the  capitulation  pro- 
posed by  the  British  commander. 

It  would  be  a  grateful  task  to  record  human- 
it}^  or  chivalry  as  the  motive  for  the  concession; 
and  it  would  be  the  duty  of  history  to  assign  it, 
in  the  absence  of  facts,  inconsistent  with  such  a 
conclusion.  But  the  victor,  by  his  own  confes- 
sion, has  precluded  such  a  presumption.*    In  a 


Sparks,  Vol.  8,  p.  175. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  137 

letter  of  General  Washington's  to  Don  Francis- 
co Rendon,  agent  of  the  Spanish  government  in 
the  United  States,  written  at  ''Headquarters 
before  Yorktovvn,  twelfth  of  October,  1781," 
occurs  the  following:  "I  am  obliged  by  the 
extract  of  General  Galvez's  letter  to  Count  de 
Grasse,  explaining  at  large  the  necessity  he  was 
under  of  granting  the  terms  of  capitulation  to 
the  garrison  at  Pensacola,  which  the  command- 
ant required.  I  have  no  doubt,  from  General 
Galvez's  well  known  attachment  to  the  cause 
of  America,  that  he  would  have  refused  the  arti- 
cles, which  have  been  deemed  exceptionable, 
had  there  not  been  very  powerful  reasons  to 
induce  his  acceptance  of  them.  " 

What,  it  may  be  asked,  were  "those  very 
powerful  reasons?  "  He  had  an  army  at  his 
command  only  one  thousand  less  in  number 
than  General  Washington  had  before  York- 
town,  when  he  wrote  the  letter  to  Rendon;  he 
had  ample  supplies  of  every  description  ;  he  was 
backed  by  a  powerful  fleet;  he  had  selected 
for  his  expedition  a  time  when  de  Grasse's 
movements  on  the  Atlantic  coast  required 
the    presence,  in  that  quarter,   of  the    whole 


138  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

British  naval  force  on  this  side  oi  the 
Atlantic;  and  hence,  we  can  find  no  "  necessity- 
he  was  under  of  granting  terms,  "  which  Gen- 
eral Campbell  "required,"  unless  we  find  it  in 
his  want  of  faith  in  his  ability  by  force  of  arms, 
to  compel  the  British  commander  to  modify  his 
requirements. 

In  order  to  fully  appreciate  the  transaction, 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was  an 
understanding  between  Galvez  and  the  French 
commanders  in  America,  that  he  should  not 
grant  to  British  troops  that  might  fall  into  his 
power  during  his  operations  in  West  Florida, 
such  terms  as  would  enable  them  to  become  a 
part  of  the  armies  operating  against  the  United 
States. 

This  understanding  Galvez  violated  at  Baton 
Rouge  and  Mobile,  and  again  for  the  third 
time,  in  conceding  the  terms  demanded  by  Gen- 
eral Campbell;  for  the  articles  bound  the  gar- 
rison not  to  serve  against  Spain  and  her  allies 
only,  and  the  United  States  was  not  her  ally, 
but  only  a  sympathizer. 

To  say  that  the  ''powerful  reasons,"  to  quote 
from  General  Washington,  w^ere  not  in  Fort 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  139 

George,  would  be  to  accuse  Gal  vez  of  bad  faith 
to  his  French  ally,  and  untruth,  as  to  the  exist- 
ence of  any  necessity  for  his  concession  to  the 
British. 

Such  being  the  conclusions  that  impartial  his- 
tory must  draw,  impressive  was  the  spectacle 
presented,  on  the  ninth  of  May,  1781,  upon 
that  hill  now  crowned  by  the  monument  to  the 
Confederate  dead.  In  a  circle  around  Fort 
George  the  Spanish  army  stands  in  array.  The 
roll  of  a  drum  breaks  the  stillness,  followed  by 
the  sound  of  mustering  in  the  Fort.  Again  as 
it  beats  to  the  fife's  stirring  military  air,  the 
British  commander,  in  the  dress  of  a  major-gen- 
eral, sword  in  hand,  emerges  from  the  breach, 
followed  by  his  less  than  eight  hundred  heroes. 
Proudly  does  the  gallant  band  step  the  five  hun- 
dred paces;  then  successively  come  the  orders  to 
halt,  fall  into  line,  and  stack  arms. 

The  scene  would  have  thrilled  the  heart  of 
every  soldier  whose  memory  is  consecrated  by 
the  shaft  that  springs  from  that  historic  hill, 
then  the  centre  of  a  landscape,  whence,  north- 
ward, the  e3^e  could  rest  on  a  limitless  expanse 
of  verdure;  eastward  and  westward  upon  the 


140  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

far-sweeping  curves  of  the  shore ;  southward 
upon  the  glorious  mirror  of  the  Bay,  with  the 
hills  of  Santa  Rosa  rising  out  of  the  blue  waters 
like  snow-clad  peaks  above  the  azure  of  a  dis- 
tant horizon,  and  far  beyond  them  upon  the 
tremulous  sky-line  of  the  heaving  gulf. 

The  formal  signing  of  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion in  the  Council  Chamber  of  Fort  George, 
which  occurred  on  the  ninth  of  Ma^^,  immediate- 
ly before  the  British  marched  out,  was  antici- 
pated in  a  former  page. 

On  June  the  fourth  the  British  troops  sailed  for 
Havana,  where  the^^  arrived  on  the  fourteenth 
of  the  same  month ;  and  thence  the  same  vessels 
transported  them  to  Brooklyn.  A  further  ad- 
dition was  made  to  the  strength  of  the  British, 
by  the  garrisons  of  Baton  Rouge  and  Fort 
Charlotte,  which  after  many  obstacles,  and 
several  voyages  from  point  to  point,  finally 
reached  Brooklyn  about  the  time  the  Pensacola 
troops  arrived  there..  And  thus,  in  consequence 
of  Galvez's  breach  of  faith,  a  force  of  1,200  vet- 
erans, with  their  gallant  officers,  was  added  to 
the  British  army. 

It    was  doubtless  this  accession  of  British 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  141 

strength,  at  New  York,  in  that  rallying  year, 
when  each  side  required  every  available  man, 
that  caused  de  Grasse  to  complain  to  the  Span- 
ish government  of  the  capitulation  at  Pensa- 
cola,  and  called  forth  the  apology  of  Galvez 
referred  to  by  General  Washington  in  his  letter 
to  Rendon. 


142  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Political  Aspect  of  the  Capitulation — Treaty  of  Versailles — 
English  Exodus — Widow  of  the  White  House. 

The  terms  of  the  surrender  of  Fort  George,  as 
stated  in  the  previous  chapter,  present  the 
strictl}^  military  side  of  the  capitulation.  But 
there  was  also  a  political  aspect  to  the  formal 
articles,  signed  on  the  ninth  of  May,  by  General 
Campbell,  Governor  Chester,  and  General  Gal- 
vez.  West  Florida  was  surrendered  to  Spain, 
and  it  was  stipulated,  that  ''the  British  inhabi- 
tants, or  those  who  may  have  been  subjects  oi 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  in  said  countries, 
may  retire  in  full  security,  and  may  sell  their 
estates,  and  remove  their  effects  as  well  as  their 
persons ;  the  time  limited  for  their  emigration 
being  fixed  at  the  space  of  eighteen  months.  " 

It  was  that  political  feature  of  the  capitula- 
tion which  made  Governor  Chester's  signature 
necessary,  and  to  that  it  related  exclusively. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  143 

That  of  General  Campbell  referred  to  the  strictly 
military-  stipulations  only.  In  the  former  we 
may  find  one  of  General  Galvez's  inducements 
to  submit  to  the  British  general's  ''require- 
ments." 

The  object  of  the  Spanish  government  in  di- 
recting the  invasion  of  West  Florida  was  to  per- 
manently regain  the  territory  which  Spain  had 
surrendered  to  Great  Britain  in  1763 ;  and  in 
addition,  to  obtain  that  part  of  Louisiana  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  which  the  latter  had  acquired 
from  France.  Consequently,  the  large  expedition 
so  long  in  preparing  against  Pensacola,  and  so 
disproportionate  to  the  mere  capture  of  the 
place,  was  intended  for  colonization,  as  w^ell  as 
conquest.  Such  being  the  policy  of  his  govern- 
ment, Galvez  necessarily  subordinated  all  other 
considerations  to  its  achievement.  Accordingly, 
his  overwhelming  numbers  designed  to  over- 
awe opposition ;  his  ponderous  siege  artillery 
intended  to  batter  Fort  George  into  ruins  with- 
out danger  to  the  town;  avoidance  of  all  move- 
ments by  his  fleet  against  it  as  well  as  all  injury 
to  it  by  his  artillery  during  the  siege ;  and,  lastly, 
the  article  above  quoted  pointed  to  the  coloni- 


14-4?  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

zation  of  a  Spanish  population,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  which  the  English  homes  were  [to  be 
vacated,  and  their  inmates  forced  into  exile.  If 
that  object  could  be  obtained  by  the  capitula- 
tion, there  was  nothing  within  the  lines  of  Span- 
ish policy  to  be  gained  by  taking  Fort  George 
bv  storm,  at  the  fearful  sacrifice  of  human  life 
which  it  would  have  cost.  The  French  might, 
indeed,  complain  that  the  agreement  with  them 
respecting  British  troops  in  Florida  was  vio- 
lated by  conceding  the  terms  demanded  by 
General  Campbell ;  but  diplomacy,  the  science  of 
excuses  and  pretexts,  would  be  equal  to  the  task 
of  satisfying  them.  As  to  the  Americans,  it  was  of 
little  consequence  to  Spain  that  General  Clinton's 
forces  would  be  strengthened  by  the  reinforce- 
ment of  the  Florida  troops,  albeit  at  a  con- 
juncture when  every  available  man  was  required 
to  sustain  Britain's  tottering  North  American 
empire.  For  though  Spain  became  an  ally  of 
France  in  order  to  place  herself  in  a  position  to 
claim  a  fragment  of  that  empire  when  it  fell,  yet 
her  purpose  was  to  attain  that  end  with  the 
least  possible  inconvenience  or  sacrifice  to  her- 
self. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  145 

That  General  Washington  was  satisfied  with 
the  apology  of  Galvez  made  through  de  Grasse 
may  well  be  doubted.  His  dignity,  however, 
forbade  complaint.  Besides,  the  promise  violated 
was  made  to  the  French;  if  they  were  satisfied, 
respect  for  them  imposed  silence  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans. But  there  is  in  the  paragraph  of  the  letter 
to  Rendon,  before  quoted,  a  vein  of  irony,  the 
sting  of  which,  coming  from  such  a  man,  Galvez 
must  have  keenly  felt. 

As  already  intimated,  the  above  quoted  pro- 
vision of  the  capitulation  became  substantially 
the  Fifth  Article  of  the  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain,  signed  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  January,  1783,  at  Versailles.'' 

The  condition  in  which  that  treaty  placed  the 
Florida-English  was  peculiar.  Spain  was  not 
opposed  to  foreigners  living  in  her  colonies,  pro- 
vided they  were  Catholics ;  and  it  was  well  un- 
derstood, that  any  English  who  were,  or  should 
become,  such  would  be  at  liberty  to  remain  in 
Florida  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  liberty 
and  property. t 


♦White's  Recopilacion,  Vol.  11. ,    p.298. 
fWhite's  Recopilacion,  Vol.  II.,  p.  301. 


146  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

History  does  not  afford  a  more  striking  con- 
trast between  the  conduct  of  two  nations  under 
similar  circumstances,  to  the  honor  of  one,  and 
the  reproach  of  the  other,  than  that  between 
Spain  and  Great  Britain,  as  they  are  presented 
b^' the  treaties  of  Paris  and  Versailles.  In  the 
former,  Spanish  subjects  were  secured  in  their 
persons,  religion,  liberty  and  property.  In  the 
latter.  Great  Britain  virtually  stipulated  for  the 
banishment  of  hers,  and  the  confiscation  of  their 
estates.  The  privilege  of  selling  their  property 
within  eighteen  months  was  but  a  mockery;  for 
purchasers  were  not  only  few,  but  \veil  aware, 
likewise,  that  a  trifling  consideration  would  in 
the  end  be  preferable  to  a  total  sacrifice. 

The  British  government  professed  to  compen- 
sate the  victims  of  her  policy ;  but  her  justice 
was  confined  to  those  whose  claims  upon  it 
were  the  slightest;  to  the  absentees  owning 
large  tracts  of  land  which  had  been  granted  by 
the  crown,  and  who  did  not  see  fit  to  go  to  the 
provinces  to  attempt  to  effect  sales.  *But  no 
indemnity  was    provided    for  those    who  had 

*Id.  p.  300. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  147 

made  their  homes  in  the  provinces,  under 
the  gilded  representations  and  inviting  promises 
of  their  governors  in  the  name  of  His  Protestant 
Majest}',  George  HI.,  Defender  of  the  Faith, 

The  conduct  of  Spain  in  this  matter  is  hardly 
censurable,  when  it  is  remembered  that  it  oc- 
curred in  an  age  of  religious  intolerance.  She  was 
a  Catholic  power  and  wanted  no  Protestant 
subjects.  Her  own  had  left  Florida  in  1763,  as 
soon  as  the  Spanish  flag  was  lowered.  In  the 
articles  of  capitulation  and  the  treaty  of  1783 
she  had  enforced  her  traditional  policy.  And 
to  her  credit,  be  it  said,  that  she  did  not  enforce 
banishment  and  confiscation  after  eighteen 
months  had  expired  under  the  former ;  and  when 
that  period  had  elapsed  under  the  latter,  she 
granted  an  extension  of  four  months.  Great 
Britain,  on  the  other  hand,  in  ^-ielding  to  Spain's 
demands  was  false  to  her  faith,  false  to  hertra" 
ditions,  and  false  to  that  boasted  principle  of 
her  constitution  that  her  aegis  covers  every 
Englishman,  in  every  land. 

Eighteen  months  is  but  a  fleeting  span  to  a 
people,  when  it  is  but  a  respite  from  confisca- 
tion and  exile,  avoidable  only  by  apostasy. 


148  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

Of  the  heartaches  of  the  exodus  of  the  Florida- 
English  we  have  an  illustration  in  the  widow 
of  the  White  House.  She  had  lived  out  the 
eighteen  months  under  the  capitulation,  and 
the  like  period  under  the  treaty,  when  the  ex- 
tension came  to  her  like  a  respite  to  the  con- 
demned. 

Those  four  months  embraced  the  days  and 
nights  of  her  struggle  in  the  toils  of  temptation, 
foreshadowed  in  a  previous  page.  Can  she  leave 
that  home,  consecrated  by  the  graves  of  her  hus- 
band and  her  child ;  that  home  where  every  ob- 
ject, tree,  vine,  shrub,  sea,  sky,  and  the  very 
wild  violets  at  her  feet,  brought  up  hallowed  as- 
sociations and  sacred  memories  which  made  them 
all  parts  of  her  very  being  ?  No !  The  surrender 
would  be  at  the  cost  of  as  many  bleeding  heart 
strings.  There  is,  however,  an  escape  in  apos- 
tasy. She  has  but  to  signify  her  wish  to  re- 
nounce her  faith;  that  faith,  however,  with  which 
she  had  consoled  a  dying  husband,  and  in  w^hich 
she  had  buried  a  darling  child.  Home  triumphs. 
The  governor  is  notified. 

Time  wanes  to  the  day  of  sacrifice.  The  bell 
tolls  the  sacrificial  hour.    The  priest  stands  at 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  149 

the  altar  ready  for  the  offering.  But  the  vic- 
tim fails  the  tryst.  Faith  triumphs.  The  bonds 
of  temptation  are  snapped.  Turning  her  back 
upon  home,  she  goes  forth  an  exile;  crowned, 
we  may  well  believe,  with  the  promise  to  all  the 
true  of  every  creed  who  leave  ** lands"  and 
''houses"  for  His  name's  sake,  to  swell  the 
mighty  host  of  woman  martyrs ;  time's  woeful 
harvest  of  blighted  lives  and  broken  hearts; 
victims  of  man's  ambitions,  his  wars,  his  poli- 
cies, and  his  laws. 


150  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

Boundary  Lines — William  Panton  and  Spain — Indian  Trade 
— Indian  Ponies  and  Traders — Business  of  Panton, 
Leslie  &  Co. 

The  treaty  of  Versailles  re-adjusted  the  brok- 
en circle  of  Spain's  empire  on  the  shores  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  restoring  to  it  the  segment 
taken  from  it  by  d'Iberville's  settlement,  as  well 
as  that  cut  from  it  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in 
1763. 

But  British  West  Florida  was  not  in  its  en- 
tirety acquired  by  Spain .  By  the  Treaty  of  Paris 
of  the  third  day  of  September,  1783,  acknowl- 
edging the  independence  of  the  United  States, 
the  31°  parallel  of  north  latitude  was  made  the 
southern  limit  of  the  latter  from  the  Mississippi 
river  to  the  Appalachicola.  Thence  the  boundary 
line  was  that  river  up  to  the  Flint,  thence  in  a 
straight  line  to  the  head  waters  of  the  St.  Mary's 
and  down  that  river  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.   The 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  151 

Treaty  of  Versailles,  on  the  other  hand,  made 
that  line  the  northern  boundary  of  the  territory 
ceded  to  Spain.  Those  treaties  therefore  cut  oflf 
a  huge  slice  from  British  West  Florida. 

But,  even  within  that  narrow  strip  of  terri- 
tory, Pensacola  lost  its  primacy ;  for  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Spanish  colonial  governments 
within  it,  the  Perdido  was  made  the  western 
limit  of  West  Florida.  Pensacola  was,  there- 
fore, .by  that  arrangement  placed  geographic- 
ally in  reference  to  boundary  lines  as  it  stands 
to-day;  the  result,  as  before  shown,  of  d'Arriola 
having:  made  his  settlement  three  vears  before 
the  advent  of  d 'Iberville  to  the  gulf  coast. 

Those  territorial  changes  dealt  a  withering 
blow  to  Pensacola.  Instead  of  being  the  capital 
of  a  province,  bounded  by  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Chattahoochee,  and  a  line  from  one  to  the 
other  some  miles  north  of  Montgomery,  it  be- 
came but  the  chief  town  of  a  narrow  strip  of 
wilderness  between  the  Perdido  and  the  Appa- 
lachicola  rivers.  Lately  regarded  and  fostered  as 
the  future  commercial  base  on  the  gulf  of  Brit- 
ain's North  American  empire,  it  now  became  a 
garrison  town,  valued  by  Spain  as  only  an  out- 


152  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

post  to  guard  against  encroachments  by  other 
powers  on  the  shores  of  a  sea  over  which  she 
sought  supremac3\ 

Left  to  Spanish  influences  exclusively,  it  must 
have  rapidly  dwindled  to  the  condition,  com- 
mercially at  least,  in  which  Captain  Wills  found 
it  in  1763.  But  from  that  fate  it  was  saved 
by  two  men  who  have  already  been  introduced 
to  the  reader. 

The  narrow  religious  prejudices  of  the  Spanish 
court  demanded  the  banishment  of  all  Protes- 
tant British  under  the  Fifth  Article  of  the  Treaty 
of  Versailles ;  and  they  were  rigidly  obeyed  by 
colonial  officials  with  one  exception.  They  knew 
that  to  banish  William  Panton  was  to  insure 
for  the  town  the  fate  above  indicated,  and  they 
were  equally  aware  that  his  presence  w^ould  be 
more  effective  in  the  preservation  of  the  peace  of 
the  provinces  than  a  large  military  force,  owing 
to  his  influence  over  Alexander  McGillivray,  and 
of  the  latter's  over  the  powerful  Creek  Indians. 
Indeed,  it  is  unquestionable,  that  without  those 
influences,  the  Spanish  government  could  not 
have  been  maintained  in  West  Florida.  But  it 
would  have  been  idle  to  hope  that  a  man  who 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  153 

had  been  loyal  to  an  earthly  monarch,  under 
pain  of  confiscation  and  banishment,  would  in- 
cur the  guilt  of  apostasy  from  a  faith  that  was 
to  him,  at  least,  the  symbol  of  allegiance  to  the 
King  of  Kings.  Accordingly,  the  religious  test 
was  waived  as  to  him,  and  for  it  was  substituted 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Spanish  King,  whilst 
his  residence  and  influence  were  secured  by  means 
the  most  inviting  to  his  interest  and  flattering 
to  his  pride. 

A  treaty  was  entered  into  with  him,  as  a 
quasi-sovereign,  securing  his  firm  in  all  its  pos- 
sessions and  rights,  and  bestowing  upon  its 
houses  at  Pensacola,  Mobile  and  Appalachee  a 
monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade.  For  these  con- 
cessions the  firm  became  the  financial  agent  of 
the  government  at  those  points,  and  bound  to 
wield  its  influence  in  promoting  peace  and  good 
will  between  the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians. 

The  stipulations  on  both  sides  were  faithfully 
fulfilled.  At  one  time  Spain  was  indebted  to  the 
firm  in  the  sum  of  $200,000  for  advances,  and 
the  debt  was  afterwards  faithfullv  discharsred. 
In  humiliating  contrast  with  the  honor  and 
fidelity  which  marked  the  dealings  of  the  Scotch- 


15-4  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

men  and  Spaniards  with  each  other,  is  the  fol- 
lowing advice  of  an  American  agent,  James  Sea- 
graves,  *to  his  government.  "I  think  if  the 
Spanish  court  were  pushed  in  the  business  they 
will  readily  sacrifice  Panton  &  Co.,  especially 
as  they  owe  the  concern  $200,000  for  Indian 
supplies." 

This  advice  was  given  at  a  time  when  com- 
plications had  arisen  between  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment of  Florida  and  the  United  States,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  energetic  struggle  of  the  Atlantic 
Indian  traders  to  divert  the  Creek  trade  from 
Pensacola  to  Charleston  and  Savannah.  The 
step  suggested  was,  in  effect,  to  transfer  a  com- 
mercial contest  from  the  Indian  wilds  to  Mad- 
rid, where  an  American  minister  was  Expected 
to  perform  the  degrading  task  of  attempting  to 
induce  the  Spanish  court  to  commit  a  fraud 
upon  agents  who  had  served  it  so  long  and 
faithfully,  as  well  as  to  violate  all  its  other 
obligations  to  them. 

Panton,  Leslie  &  Co.  were  engaged  in  that 
trade  at  Charleston  and  Savannah  long  before 


•American  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.  p.   311. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  155 

the  American  revolution ;  a  trade  which,  even 
then,  extended  through  the  Coosa  country  in 
the  heart  ofthe  Creek  nation.  With  a  full  knowl- 
edge of  it,  in  all  its  details,  they  established 
themselves  at  Pensacola  with  a  view  of  draw- 
ing a  part  of  it  there.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  commercial  struggle  which  is  continued 
to  this  day,  between  the  gulf  and  Atlantic  ports 
for  the  trade  of  Central  Alabama.  It  began 
with  the  Indian  ponies  as  a  means  of  transporta- 
tion ;  it  is  carried  on  now  by  the  steam  horse ; 
and  a  future  generation  may  see  it  continued  by 
electricity. 

The  pony  used  by  the  trader  was  a  strong, 
hardy  little  creature,  which  with  ease  carried 
one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  and  travel- 
ed twenty-five  miles  a  day.  The  rich  and  abun- 
dant pasturage  in  those  times  enabled  him  to 
supply  himself  with  sufficient  food  at  noon  and 
at  night  to  meet  his  requirements.  There  was 
often  oddity  in  his  load.  It  might  be  a  minia- 
ture chickenhouse,  or  two  kegs  of  taffi,  hung  to 
his  sides,  with  a  pack  of  merchandise  on  his 
back;   or  two  pendant  firkins  of  honey-comb, 


156  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

with  a  pile  of  hides,  skins,  or  beeswax  towering 
between. 

One  driver  for  ten  animals  was  the  usual  pro- 
portion of  man  and  beast.  The  companies  were 
generally  from  five  to  ten,  making  a  long  line  of 
march,  following  the  main  and  lateral  trails 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter.  But  as  all 
the  Indian  settlements  were  visited,  their  move- 
ments could  not  always  be  on  the  ridge.  Some- 
times creeks  and  rivers  had  to  be  crossed.  On 
such  occasions,  when  the  stream  was  not  ford- 
able  with  safety  to  the  packs,  they  were  ferried 
over  on  rafts  composed  of  logs  or  masses  of 
matted  cane,  guided  where  the  current  was 
strong  by  a  grapevine  rope  stretched  across  the 
stream. 

Regarded  by  their  savage  customers  as  friends, 
who  came  periodically  to  administer  to  their 
wants,  and  gratify  their  taste  for  taffi,  the 
traders  made  their  journeys  in  perfect  security. 
Like  their  class  everywhere,  they  were  joyous 
men,  full  of  fun  and  jokes,  news  and  gossip,  to 
which  full  play  was  given,  under  the  spur  of  a 
cup  of  taffi,  when  caravans  met. 

Beside  the  trade  thus  carried  on,  there  was  one 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  157 

equally  as  great,  if  not  greater,  carried  on  by  the 
Indians  themselves,  without  the  intervention  of 
the  traders.  The  business  required  Panton, 
Leslie  &  Co.  to  keep  up  a  stock  of  $50,000  at 
least,  and  a  large  corps  of  clerks  to  wait  on 
their  savage  customers. 

Other  business  sprung  up  and  brought  popu- 
lation. Sawmills  were  erected,  brickyards  opened 
and  a  t any ard  established,  which  added  leather 
to  the  exports  of  the  town. 

Such  were  the  fruits  of  William  Panton's  pres- 
ence in  the  province.  Idle,  however,  would  have 
been  his  labor,  his  wealth  and  talents,  though 
backed  by  the  Spanish  Government,  but  for  the 
co-operation  of  McGillivray.  Had  the  great 
Chief  pointed  his  long,  slender  finger  to  Savan- 
nah and  Charleston  as  the  sources  of  supply  for 
his  people,  the  commercial  life  of  Pensacola 
would  have  withered  and  perished  like  a  tree 
girdled  by  the  woodman's  axe. 


158  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Lineage  of  Alexander  McGillivray  — His  Education— Made 
Grand  Chief— His  Connection  with  Milfort— His  Rela- 
tions with  William  Panton — His  Administration  of 
Creek  Affairs— Appointed  Colonel  by  the  British- 
Treaty  with  Spain— Commissioned  Colonel  by  the 
Spanish — Invited  to  New  York  by  Washington— Treaty 
— Commissioned  a  Brigadier-General  b^'  the  United 
States— His  Sister,  Sophia  Durant— His  Trials— His 
Death  at  Pensacola. 

The  people  who  have  been  called  Creeks  in 
previous  pages,  received  that  name  after  their 
settlement  in  Alabama  and  Georgia ;  a  name,  it 
is  said,  they  derived  from  the  number  and 
beauty  of  the  streams  or  creeks  of  the  country 
they  inhabited.  Before  that  the^^  were  known 
as  Muscogees  according  to  English,  and  Otho- 
mis  or  Otomies,  according  to  Castilian  orthog- 
raph3\ 

Their  original  seat  was  in  northern  Mexico. 
They  were  a  warlike  and  independent  tribe, 
which,  though  lacking  the  comparative  civiliza- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  159 

tion  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Tlascalans,  had  yet 
received  some  ra^^s  of  its  light.  Thej^  had  been 
confederates  of  the  latter  in  their  conflicts  for 
existence  with  the  former.  They  had  afterwards 
aided  in  the  defence  of  Tlascala  against  Cortez. 
Surviving  warriors,  however,  carried  back  to 
their  people  such  accounts  of  that  field  of 
slaughter,  and  the  prowess  of  the  foe,  who  seem- 
ed to  be  armed  with  supernatural  weapons, 
that  the  tribe  became  panic-stricken,  and  in  a 
council,  resolved  upon  a  flight  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  invincible  invader.  The  determination 
was  promptly  put  into  execution. 

The  entire  tribe,  bearing  off  its  movable  effects, 
took  its  line  of  march  in  an  easterly'  course. 
After  a  journey  which  consumed  many  months, 
they  found  themselves  on  the  head  waters  of 
Red  river.  Reaching  that  river,  and  following 
it,  they  at  length  found  a  suitable  place  for  a 
settlement,  where  thev  felt  thev  were  sufficient- 
ly  remote  from  the  terrible  foe  who  had  inspired 
their  flight.  There  they  accordingly'  establish- 
ed themselves,  and  remained  for  several  3'ears. 
Abandoning  that  settlement,  they  proceeded 
northward  to  the  Missouri,  thence  to  the  Mis- 


160  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

sissipi,  and  from  there  moved  to  the  Ohio.  That 
progress,  however,  was  not  by  a  continuous 
march,  but  by  periodic  advances,  interrupted 
by  settlements  more  or  less  long,  and  marked 
by  conflicts  with  other  tribes,  in  which,  accord- 
ing to  their  traditions,  they  were  always  victo- 
rious. 

They  must  have  been  living  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio,  when  Soto  made  his  devastating  march 
through  the  Creek  country  which  was  after- 
wards to  be  their  home.  There  they  must  have 
been  likewise,  when  de  Luna  made  his  explora- 
tions, and  noted  the  sparseness  of  population, 
and  abandoned  fields  as  before  narrated ;  or, 
perhaps,  they  were  then  making  one  of  their  in- 
termittent advances  southward,  which  were  to 
bring  them  eventually  to  the  Coosa,  Tallapoosa, 
and  Chattahoochee. 

Like  other  Mexican  tribes,  the  Muscogees 
were  divided  into  septs  or  fratries,  the  most 
notable  of  them  being  those  of  the  Ho-tal-gee, 
or  the  Wind,  the  Tiger,  the  Bear,  and  the  Eagle. 
In  the  first,  however,  resided  the  primacy,  or 
hegemony  of  the  tribe. 

The  traditions  of  their  Mexican  origin  and  em- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  161 

igration,  collected  by  Le  Clerc  Milfort  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions,  as  will  be  seen  here- 
after, are  fortified  by  their  form  of  government, 
with  its  dual  executive  for  civil  and  military 
affairs ;  their  glimmer  of  civilization,  as  well  as 
their  federative  tendency. 

Soon  after  their  settlement  in  the  Creek 
country, they  are  found  absorbing  other  tribes; 
not  by  enslavement  or  incorporation,  but  as 
confederates.  They  had  their  national  councils, 
composed  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  confeder- 
acy, and  suitable  buildings  at  fixed  places  for 
their  accommodation.  The  head  of  the  confeder- 
acy for  civil  affairs  was  the  Grand  Chief,  as  the 
Tustenuggee,  or  Great  Warrior,  was  for  war. 
They  also  had  Town  Governments,  the  Chief  of 
each  being  the  Micco,  an  elective  officer,  and  not 
a  King,  as  often  misrepresented.  Each  town 
had  its  council  house,  in  which  local  affairs  were 
administered. 

The  Grand  Chief  of  the  Muscogees  held  the 
position,  and  exercised  the  functions  which 
recent  criticism  has  assigned  to  Montezuma,  as 
the  head  of  the  Aztec  confederacy,  to  whom  the 
Spaniards  erroneously  gave  the  title,  and  attrib- 


162  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

uted  the  powers  of  an  emperor,  in  accordance 
with  their  own  habits  of  thought,  as  the  sub- 
jects of  an  emperor. 

The  Indian  trade  that  existed  between  the 
Creeks  and  the  Atlantic  coast,  which  has 
alread}'  been  mentioned,  was  an  inviting  field 
to  cupidity  and  enterprise,  and  many  were  the 
young  adventurers  from  the  old  world  who  en- 
gaged in  it  soon  after  their  landing  at  Charles- 
ton or  Savannah.  Some  of  them,  too,  fasci- 
nated by  the  wild  life  of  the  forest,  made  them- 
selves homes  in  the  Creek  nation,  and  found 
wives  amongst  the  Creek  maidens,  who  in  form, 
feature  and  habits,  w^ere  superior  to  those  of 
other  tribes. 

Amongst  those  adventurous  spirits  w^as 
Lachlan  McGillivray,  a  youth  of  good  Scotch 
family,  of  Dumglass,  Scotland.  A  few  years 
found  him  a  successful  trader.  On  one  of  his 
visits  to  the  Hickory  Ground,  a  prominent 
Creek  town  on  the  Coosa,  situated  near  the 
present  site  of  Wetumpka,  Alabama,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Sehoy  Marchand,  a  young 
woman  w^hose  mother  was  a  full  blood  of  the  Ho- 
tal-gee,  or  Wind  family,  and  whose  father  was  a 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  163 

French  captain  who  had  been  murdered  by  mu- 
tineers at  Fort  Toulouse,  a  few  miles  from  Hick- 
ory Ground.  That  meeting  resulted  in  marriage. 
Shortly  afterward,  McGillivray  made  a  hom.e, 
and  established  a  trading  house,  not  far  from 
where  he  had  first  met  his  Indian  wife. 

Of  that  marriage,  Alexander  McGillivray  was 
the  first  born,  Sophia  the  next,  and  Jenette  the 
third. 

The  father  became  exceedingly^  prosperous, 
partly  in  consequence  of  his  alliance  with  the 
chief  family  of  the  Creeks,  and  in  a  few  years 
found  himself  the  owner  of  two  plantations  on 
the  Savannah  river.  His  trading  journeys, 
however,  still  had  their  attractions  for  him. 
When  Alexander  was  fourteen  years  old  he  in- 
duced his  wife  to  let  the  boy  go  with  him  to 
Charleston,  and  remain  there  to  be  educated. 
After  having  been  instructed  sufficiently  for  the 
purpose,  he  was  placed  in  a  counting-house; 
but  having  acquired  a  taste  for  learning,  that 
occupation  became  intolerable  to  him.  His 
father,  accordingly,  determined  to  yield  to  the 
bent  of  the  boy's  mind,  and  found  him  a  highly 
educated  teacher  in  a  clergyman  of  Charleston. 


164  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

With  that  assistance,  and  sedulous  application, 
he  became  a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and 
besides,  made  rapid  and  extensive  progress  in 
other  departments  of  knowledge.  He  appears 
to  have  been  a  student  up  to  the  age  of  thirty, 
which  he  reached  about  the  year  1776.  In  that 
year  he  left  Charleston,  an  educated  man,  to 
return  to  his  people,  whom  he,  a  little  semi-sav- 
age of  fourteen,  had  left  sixteen  years  before. 
The  impelling  motive  to  that  movement  prob- 
ably was,  that  being  like  his  father,  a  loyalist 
residence  in  a  rebel  colony  was  no  longer  agree- 
able. Possibly,  however,  he  had  purposely 
deferred  his  return  to  the  Indian  nation  until 
he  had  arrived  at  such  an  age  as  would  justify 
him  in  looking  to  the  position  of  Grand  Chief. 
But,  be  that  as  it  may,  the  time  for  his  return 
was  judiciously  chosen,  and  consistently  with 
that  sagacity  which  characterized  his  whole  life, 
of  acting  opportunely  in  all  exigencies. 

The  white  settlers  of  Georgia  were  beginning  to 
press  through  what  the  Creeks  claimed  as  their 
frontier;  and  to  that  pressure  was  added  the 
hostility  engendered  by  the  revolution,  now  in  its 
second  year,  against  any  semblance  of  favor  to 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  165 

the  enemies  of  the  patriotic  cause.  The  West 
Florida-English  and  their  government  were  on 
the  most  friendly  terms  with  the  Creeks ;  and 
that  in  itself  was  sufficient  to  beget  hostility  to 
the  latter  on  the  part  of  the  Whigs  of  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas.  This  was  a  new  and  com- 
plex condition  of  things  to  the  Creeks,  present- 
ing questions  for  solution  with  which  their 
great  council  felt  its  inability  to  deal.  To 
whom  could  they  look  for  guidance?  They 
knew  no  disinterested  advice  could  come  from 
the  government  at  Pensacola,  and  it  v^ould  be 
folly  to  seek  counsel  from  the  Georgians,  who 
regarded  them  as  enemies  because  they  desired 
to  be  neutrals,  living  in  peace  between  hostile 
communities,  engaged  in  a  conflict  in  which  the 
Indian  could  feel  no  interest. 

It  was  just  at  this  juncture  that  Alexander 
McGillivray  found  himself  amongst  his  people. 
Long  and  impatiently  had  the}'  awaited  the 
advent  of  the  representative  of  the  Ho-tal-gee, 
the  grand  chieftan,  who  for  so  man\'  years  had 
been  studying  that  wisdom  of  the  white  man, 
which  made  him  the  Indian's  superior;  that 
wisdom  which  now  acquired  by  him,  was  to  be 


166  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

exercised  for  the  salvation  of  his  people.  Great, 
therefore,  was  the  satisfaction  produced  by  the 
advent  of  such  a  disinterested  counselor  and 
^uide. 

He  is  hardly  well  within  the  nation  before  a 
grand  council  is  called  at  Coweta,  on  the  Chat- 
tahoochee, over  which  he  was  to  preside,  and 
formally  assume  the  hegemony  of  the  Ho-tal- 
gee. 

To  a  thoughtful  mind  there  is  a  pathos  in 
this  scene  which  appeals  to  every  generous 
nature !  It  comes  like  the  despairing  appeal  of 
infancy  to  manhood  for  help !  It  is  the  ignor- 
ance of  the  savage  stretching  out  its  supplicat- 
ing hands  to  the  white  man's  wisdom  as  his 
only  refuge. 

One  of  the  most  striking  powers  which  Mc- 
Gillivray  possessed,  was  his  ability  to  win  and 
retain  the  childlike  confidence  of  his  people,  and 
thereby  exercise  boundless  control  over  them. 
He  was  not  a  soldier,  or  a  man  of  blood,  in  any 
sense  of  the  term.  He  was  essentially  a  states- 
man and  a  diplomat.  The  conquests  of  peace 
only  had  any  fascination  for  him.  His  ambition 
was  to  save  and  civilize  his  people.      That  such 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  167 

a  man  should  bend  to  his  will  in  the  paths  of 
peace  a  numerous  population  of  warlike  sav- 
ages, to  whom  the  war-whoop  was  music,  and 
scalping  the  most  inviting  pastime,  is  a  domi- 
nation over  brute  instincts  of  which  history 
contains  very  few  examples. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  that  influence  occur- 
red shortly  after  the  council  at  Coweta.  He 
there  made  the  acquaintance  of  LeClercMilfort, 
mentioned  in  a  previous  page ;  an  adventurous 
Frenchman,  highly  educated,  and  possessing 
military  qualities  of  no  ordinary  kind,  as  well 
as  bodily  strength  and  endurance  equal  to  any 
exertion.  Their  mental  culture  was  a  mutual 
attraction. 

Milfort  went  with  him  from  Coweta  to  Hick- 
ory Ground,  the  home  of  McGillivray's  child- 
hood, where  his  mother  and  his  sisters  Sophia 
and  Jenette  were  living.  He  at  once  entered 
into  Creek  life,  and  united  his  fortunes  with 
McGillivray's.  The  bright  e3^es  of  Jenette 
were  not  long  in  winning  Milfort 's  heart,  nor 
was  there  much  delay  in  his  winning  hers.  The}' 
were  married.  By  the  marriage  he  acquired 
great  consideration  amongst  the  Creeks. 


16S  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

As  previously  remarked,  McGillivray  was  not 
a  soldier  himself;  but  as  a  wise  ruler,  he  felt  the 
necessity  of  having  an  able  commander  in  war, 
when  the  exigenc^^  for  it  arose.  Moreover,  his 
policy  as  a  civilized  ruler,  was  to  have  war  con- 
ducted b\"  a  civilized  leader,  who  might  by  his 
example  and  influence,  control  the  brutal 
instincts  of  his  savage  forces.  Milfort  w^as  the 
man  for  the  place.  An  obstacle  to  his  appoint- 
ment, seemingly  insuperable,  however,  existed. 
The  office  of  Tustenuggee  was  an  honor  to 
which  the  Indian  braves  looked  as  the  highest 
attainable;  and  presumptively,  they  would  re- 
fuse their  consent  that  this  coveted  prize  should 
be  conferred  upon  a  stranger.  But,  that  stranger 
had  married  a  Ho-tal-gee,  and  itw^asthe  wish  of 
the  Grand  Chief  that  he  should  receive  it.  It 
was,  accordingly,  conferred  upon  Milfort  with 
the  sanction  of  the  tribe. 

McGillivray  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
British  government  at  Pensacola,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  British  officers  in  Georgia,  with  whom  he 
carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence.  They 
at  once  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  keep  the  Creeks  in  a  state  of  neutrality, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  169 

founded,  as  it  must  be,  upon  good  feeling  for 
each  of  two  bitter  foes,  marked  by  such  strict 
in^partiaHty  of  conduct  as  to  avoid  any  ground 
of  exception  b}^  either  belHgerent.  McGilHvray's 
judgment  soon  led  him  to  the  same  conclusion; 
a  conclusion  which  imposed  upon  him  the  ne- 
cessity of  choosing  one  of  the  belligerents  for  the 
all}^  of  his  people.  He,  accordingly,  decided  in 
favor  of  a  British  alliance,  for  which  the  reasons 
were  too  obvious  for  hesitation. 

The  Americans  could  reach  his  people  upon 
one  frontier  only,  and  even  then  their  attention 
w^ould  be  distracted  by  their  contest  with  the 
British.  The  British,  on  the  other  hand,  could 
without  danger  of  interference,  assail  the  Creeks 
from  Pensacola;  and  in  case  they  crushed,  the 
Georgians  would  be  at  liberty  to  attack  them 
from  the  east.  But,  although  he  sided  with  the 
British,  it  was  with  the  secret  resolution  that 
the  alliance  should  be  maintained  at  the  least 
possible  sacrifice  to  his  people.  His  policy  was, 
not  to  permit  their  spirit  to  be  broken,  or  their 
numbers  diminished,  b3'  entering  with  their  full 
strength  into  a  conflict  with  which  they  had 
no  concern.       Nor  would  he  permit  them   to 


170  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

inflict  such  extensive  injuries  upon  Georgia  as 
would  be  a  barrier  to  future  reconciliation. 

In  order  to  spur  the  Creeks  to  great  efforts 
against  the  Americans,  Tait,  a  British  colonel, 
was  stationed  on  the  Coosa;  and  at  the  same 
time  McGillivray  received  from  the  British  gov- 
ernment the  commission  and  pay  of  colonel  in 
its  service.  But  both  expedients  proved  in- 
effectual to  materially  change  the  policy  the  lat- 
ter had  adopted.  Raids,  it  is  true,  were  made 
upon  the  Georgians,  necessarily  attended  by 
some  blood-shed  and  rapine,  but  they  were  lim- 
ited in  number,  character,  and  consequence,  by 
the  mental  reservation  with  which  McGillivray 
had  entered  into  the  British  alliance.  With  that 
limited  exertion,  however,  the  British  were  fain 
to  be  content,  as  it  was  better  for  them  than 
strict  neutrality,  and  still  more  so  than  the  hos- 
tility of  such  a  powerful  tribe  directed  against 
themselves. 

Milfort  was  the  commander  intrusted  with 
the  expeditions  against  the  Georgia  settlements; 
and,  doubtless,  being  fully  aware  of  the  con- 
servative policy  of  the  Grand  Chief,  he  made 
every  effort  to  observe  it.    A  Frenchman,  of  his 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  171 

ability,  was  the  very  man  to  make  such  a  show 
of  warfare  as  would  impose  on  the  British,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  render  it  so  barren  in 
results  as  to  make  but  a  transient  impression 
upon  those  against  whom  it  was  directed. 
That  a  man  should  have  been  selected  so  emi- 
nently qualified  to  execute  such  a  singular  task, 
affords  the  highest  evidence  of  the  capacity  of 
the  mind  that  made  the  selection.  Such  ability, 
is,  indeed,  after  all,  the  surest  test  of  the  capac- 
ity of  a  ruler. 

Though  a  band  of  the  Creeks,  as  already  men- 
tioned, assisted  the  British  at  the  time  of  Gal- 
vez's  operations  against  Pensacola,  it  is  re- 
markable, that  neither  McGillivray,  who  was  a 
colonel  in  the  British  army,  nor  Milfort,  the 
Great  War  Chief,  seem  to  have  taken  any  part 
in  the  contest.  Such  a  force  as  could  have  been 
raised  by  the  Creeks  and  their  confederate 
tribes,  could  have  rendered  great  service  to  the 
British  in  resisting,  if  not,  indeed,  in  defeating 
Galvez's  invasion.  But  an  explanation  is 
readily  found  in  the  Grand  Chiefs  policy  of 
preventing  his  people  from  taking  any  large 
part  in  the  quarrels  and  conflicts  of  the  whites. 


172  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

Besides,  he  was  doubtless  impressed  with  the 
smallness  of  the  British  force  in  West-Florida, 
compared  with  the  host  the  Spaniards  had  at 
their  command;  justifying  the  conclusion,  that 
as  the  latter  had  been  able  to  conquer  the  coun- 
try west,  they  would  prove  equal  to  the  con- 
quest of  that  east  of  the  Perdido.  He,  therefore, 
wisely  refrained  from  such  an  interference  as 
would  array  the  Spaniards  against  his  people, 
after  they  had  expelled  the  British  from  the 
country.  If  the  British  proved  victorious,  the 
assistance  rendered  by  the  Creeks,  aided  by  the 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  could  be  urged  as 
the  fulfillment  of  the  obligations  of  an  ally. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Spaniards  were  suc- 
cessful, it  was  an  easy  matter  to  disavow  the 
action  of  an  adventurer  like  Bowles,  at  the  head 
of  a  handful  of  Creeks  and  other  Indians,  as 
one  in  which  the  tribe  had  no  concern ;  an  expla- 
nation the  more  acceptable,  as  the  conqueror 
would  naturally  seek  to  cultivate  the  like 
friendly  relations  with  the  Indians  which  the 
conquered  had  enjoyed. 

Soon  after  McGillivray  became  Grand  Chief 
of  his  tribe,  he  met  William  Panton  at  Pensa- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  173 

cola.      Panton   was  deeply  impressed  with  his 
ability.    It  is  probable,  too,  that  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  elder  McGillivray,  and  sym- 
pathized with  him  as  a  fellow  victim,  who,  like 
himself,  had  suffered  banishment  and  confisca- 
tion, for  no  other  crime  than  loyalty  to  their 
King.    That  sympathy  with  the  parent  natur- 
ally inspired  good  will  toward  the  son.    But, 
aside  from  such  a  sentimental  consideration, 
each  soon  discovering  the  great  advantage  he 
could  be  to  the  other,  it  was  not  long  before 
they  were  united  by  the  more  practical  bonds 
of  mutual  interests.      McGillivray  likewise  saw 
great  advantages  to  his  peojjle  in  dealing  exclu- 
sively with  a  house  of  such  great  w^ealth  and 
influence  as  that  of  Panton,  Leslie  &  Co.,  whilst 
Panton  was  as  quick  to  see,  that  by  the  man- 
agement of  the  Grand  Chief  the  firm  could  secure 
a  monopol}^  of  the  entire  Indian  trade.     It  w^as 
immediately  after  this  understanding  between 
them  was  reached,  that  they  had  that  meeting 
with  Governor  Chester  in  the  Council  Chamber 
of  Fort  George,  of  which  a  glimpse  was  had  in 
a  previous  page. 
The  war  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  had 


174  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

cut  off  the  Creek  trade  with  the  Atlantic  coast; 
and  consequently,  McGillivray  had  no  difficulty 
in  directing  the  whole  of  it  to  Pensacola.      But 
after  peace  was  established,  the  Atlantic  traders 
were  again  ready,  with  their  pack  ponies,  to 
take  the    trails  that  led    to    western  Georgia 
and  eastern  Alabama.     Panton  at   once  saw  . 
that  the  monopoly  of  his  house  was  in  danger; 
and  that  to  avert  it,  he  must  bring  about  an 
understanding    between  the  Spanish    govern- 
ment, himself,  and  McGillivray,  like  that  which 
he  had  previously  effected  with  the  British.   He, 
accordingly,  entered  into  the  treaty  with  the 
Spaniards,  of  which  mention  was  made  in  the 
previous  chapter.      To  be  effective,  however,  he 
knew   that  treaty  must    be  supplemented  by 
another  between  the  Indians  and  the  Spaniards. 
In  playing  his  cards,    Panton  was  looking 
solely  to  the  advantage  of  his  house.    But  it 
was  far  otherwise  with  McGillivray^    If  he  in- 
duced his  people  to  make  such  a  treaty,  it  was 
because  he  saw  clearly  it  w^as  to  their  advan- 
tage.     He  rejoiced,   too,   to  find  that  he  w^as 
about  to  reap  the  fruit  of  that  policy  by  which 
he  had  brought  them  through  the  period  of  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  175 

Revolutionarv  War,  stronger,  and  more  numer- 
ous than  they  ever  were  before;  a  condition 
which  excited  the  fears  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
disposed  them  to  seek  the  alHance  of  such  a 
powerful  tribe  b\"  Hberal  concessions.  Accord- 
ingly, a  treaty  between  the  Creeks  and  the  Sem- 
inoles  represented  by  McGillivra^^  and  Spain 
by  Governor  Miro  of  New  Orleans,  assisted  by 
O'Niell,  Governor  of  West-Florida,  and  Don 
Martin  Navarro,  Intendent  General  of  Florida, 
was  entered  into  on  the  first  of  June,  1784?,  at 
Pensacola.  ^  The  relations  created  b\'  that 
treaty  between  the  Indians  and  Spaniards  were 
close  and  intimate,  and  seem  to  have  been 
observed  substantially,  although  not  alwaj^s 
in  form,  up  to  the  last  day  of  Spanish  rule  in 
Florida. 

Its  conclusion  was  followed  b\'  McGillivra}' 
obtaining  a  commission  with  the  pa}' of  Colonel 
in  the  Spanish  army. 

By  that  treaty  he  felt,  as  he  had  reason  to 
feel,  that  he  had  secured  for  his  tribe  an  alliance 
with  a  strong  European  power,  one  that  had 


*  American  State  Papers,  Vol.  10,  pp.  223-227 


176  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

just  expelled  the  British  from  the  Floridas; 
and,  that  thus  fortified,  he  was  in  a  condition 
to  meet  the  Americans  on  the  eastern  frontier 
in  a  manner  that  would  prevent  their  threaten- 
ed encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  his  people ; 
not  by  war,  however,  in  which  the  Creeks  were 
to  engage  with  the  United  States,  for  such  a 
course,  his  judgment  told  him,  would  end  in 
their  destruction.  His  treaty  with  the  Span- 
iards was  but  a  card  which  he  proposed  to  use, 
to  give  his  nation  the  imposing  aspect  of  one  to 
be  courted  rather  than  despised.  To  render  its 
attitude  still  more  imposing,  he  announced  his 
determination  to  prevent  any  further  encroach- 
ments by  the  whites  upon  the  Indian  territory 
in  Georgia. 

These  cards  won  the  game,  according  to  the 
calculations  of  the  sagacious  brain  which  con- 
ceived it.  The  United  States  met  the  threaten- 
ing aspect  of  affairs  in  Georgia,  by  appointing 
commissioners  in  1785,  to  treat  with  the 
Indians.  One  of  them,  Andrew  Pickens,  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  McGillivray,  expressing  the 
w^ish  of  the  government  amicably  '*to  adjust 
matters  on  an  equitable  footing.  "    This  was 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  177 

the  point  for  the  attainment  of  which  the  treaty 
with  the  Spaniards,  and  the  threats  of  hostility 
against  the  Georgians  had  been  made.  For  it 
was  the  strength  of  the  Creeks,  which  his  poH- 
cy  had  so  successfully  fostered  in  the  midst  of 
war,  backed  by  the  Spanish  alliance,  that  in- 
duced the  United  States,  exhausted  by  the  Rev- 
olutionary struggle,  to  resort  to  peaceable  means 
to  avoid  a  conflict  with  such  a  powerful  tribe. 

The  reply  of  McGilli vray  so  clearly  illustrates 
his  profound  policy,  which  previous  pages  have 
endeavored  to  unfold  as  the  moving  spring  of 
all  his  actions  as  Grand  Chief,  that  it  must  be 
given  in  extenso,  especially  as  any  attempt  to 
present  it  by  extracts  would  prove  a  mutilation 
in  which  its  force  would  be  impaired,  if  not 
destroyed. 

Little  Tallasee,  5th  Sept.,  1785. 

Sir:— I  am  favored  with  A'our  letter  by  Brandon,  who, 
after  detaining  it  near  a  month,  sent  it  by  an  Indian,  a  few 
days  ago.  He,  perhaps,  had  some  reasons  for  keeping  him- 
self from  this  region. 

The  notification  you  have  sent  us  is  agreeable  to  our 
wishes,  as  the  meetin^is  intended  for  the  desirable  purpose 
of  adjusting  and  settling  matters,  on  an  equitable  footing, 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Indian  nations.     .\t  the 


178  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

same  time,  I  cannot  avoid  expressing  m3''  surprise  that  a 
measure  of  this  nature  should  have  been  so  long  dela^-ed, 
on  3'our  part.  When  we  found  that  the  American  Independ- 
ence was  confirmed  by  the  peace,  we  expected  that  the  new 
government  would  soon  have  taken  some  steps  to  makeup 
the  difierences  that  subsisted  between  them  and  the  Indians 
during  the  war;  to  have  taken  them  under  their  protection, 
and  confirmed  to  them  their  hunting-grounds.  Such  a  course 
would  have  reconciled  the  minds  of  the  Indians  and  secured 
the  States  their  friendship,  as  thev  considered  j'our  people 
their  natural  allies.  The  Georgians,  whose  particular  in- 
terest it  was  to  conciliate  the  friendship  of  this  nation,  have 
acted,  in  all  respects,  to  the  contrar3%  I  am  sorr)'  to 
observe  that  violence  and  prejudice  have  taken  the  place  of 
good  policy  and  reason,  in  all  their  proceedings  with  us. 
They  attempted  to  avail  themselves  of  our  supposed  dis- 
tressed situation.  Their  talks  to  us  breathe  nothing  but 
vengeance,  and,  being  entireW  possessed  with  the  idea,  that 
we  were  w^holly  at  their  mercj',  they  never  once  reflected 
that  colonies  of  a  powerful  monarch  were  nearly  surround- 
ing us,  to  whom,  in  an  extremity,  we  might  apply  for 
succor  and  protection,  and  who,  to  answer  some  ends  of 
their  policy,  might  grant  it  to  us.  However,  we  yet  deferred 
any  such  proceeding,  still  expecting  that  we  could  bring 
them  to  a  true  sense  of  their  interest ;  but  still  finding  no 
alteration  in  their  conduct  towards  us,  we  sought  the  pro- 
tection of  Spain,  and  treaties  of  friendship  and  alliance 
were  mutually  entered  into— they  guaranteeing  our  hunt- 
ing-grounds and  territory,  and  granting  us  a  free  trade  in 
the  ports  of  the  Floridas. 
How  the  boundarv  and  limits  between  the  Spaniards  ani 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  179 

the  States  will  be  determined  a  little  time  will  show,  as  I 
believe  that  matter  is  now  on  foot.  However,  we  know 
our  limits,  and  the  extent  of  our  hunting-grounds.  As  a 
free  nation,  we  have  applied,  as  we  had  the  right  to  do,  for 
protection,  and  obtained  it.  We  shall  pay  no  attention  to 
any  limits  that  may  prejudice  our  claims,  that  were  drawn 
by  an  American  and  confirmed  by  a  British  negotiator. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  we  have  been  obliged  to  adopt  these 
measures  for  our  preservation,  and  from  real  necessity,  we 
sincereh'  wish  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  be  on  the  same 
footing  with  the  States  as  before  the  late  unhappy  war,  to 
eflfect  which  is  entireh*  in  your  power.  We  ^vant  nothing 
from  you  but  justice.  We  want  our  hunting-grounds  pre- 
served from  encroachments.  Thej'  have  been  ours  from  the 
beginning  of  time,  and  I  trust  that,  with  the  assistance  of 
our  friends,  we  shall  be  able  to  maintain  them  against  every 
attempt  that  ma\'  be  made  to  take  them  from  us. 

Finding  our  representations  to  the  State  of  Georgia  of  no 
effect,  in  restraining  their  encroachments,  we  thought  it 
proper  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  nation,  on  the  subject.  We 
then  came  to  the  resolution  to  send  our  parties  to  remove 
the  Georgians  and  their  effects  from  the  lands  in  question, 
in  the  most  peaceful  manner  possible. 

Agreeably  to  your  requisition,  and  to  convince  you  of  mj' 
sincere  desire  to  restore  a  good  understanding  between  us, 
I  have  taken  the  necessary  steps  to  prevent  any  future  pre- 
datorj'  excursions  of  my  j^eople  against  an\'  of  your  settle- 
ments. I  could  wish  the  people  of  Cumberland  showed  an 
equal  good  disposition  to  do  what  is  right.  The\'  were 
certainly  the  first  aggressors,  since  the  peace,  and  acknowl- 


180  historicXl  sketches  of 

edged  it  in  a  written  certificate,  left  at  the  Indian  camp 
they  had  plundered. 

I  have  only  to  add,  that  we  shall  meet  the  commissioners 
of  Congress  whenever  we  shall  receive  notice,  in  expectation 
that  every  matter  of  difference  will  be  settled,  with  that 
liberalitj'  and  justice  worthj' the  men  who  have  so  gloriously 
asserted  the  cause  of  liberty  and  independence,  and  that  we 
shall,  in  future,  consider  them  as  brethren,  and  defenders  of 
the  land.* 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  sir. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Alexander  McGillivray. 
Hon.  Andrew  Pickens. 

How  politic  and  graceful  the  allusion  to 
American  independence !  Could  the  alliance  with 
Spain  have  been  touched  more  artfully  ?  How 
firm  is  the  insistance  of  the  rights  of  his  people ! 
How  striking  is  the  regulation  of  the  force  ex- 
erted in  the  removal  of  trespassers  from  the 
Indian  domain!  How  worthy  of  the  spring 
days  of  republican  America  is  the  closing  para- 
graph ! 

The  reader  must  be  induced  to  read  another 
letter,  not  merely  as  illustrative  of  the  style 
and  springs  of  action  of  the  Grand  Chief,  but 

*  Indian  Affairs,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  17-18. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  181 

as  a  narrative  of  events  bearing  upon  his  life, 
which,  no  pen  can  so  well  narrate  as  his  own. 
It  is  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  James  White,  super- 
intendent of  the  Creek  Indians. 


Little  Tallasee,  8th  April,  1787. 

Sir: — It  is  with  real  satisfaction,  that  I  learn  of  your 
being  appointed  b_v  Congress,  for  the  laudable  purpose  of 
inquiring  into  and  settling  the  diflferences  that,  at  present* 
subsist  between  our  nation  and  the  Georgians.  It  may  be 
necessar}'  for  3'ou  to  know  the  cause  of  these  differences, 
and  our  discontents,  which,  perhaps,  have  never  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  honorable  body  that  sent  you  to  our 
country. 

There  are  Chiefs  of  two  towns  in  this  nation,  who, during 
the  late  war,  were  friendly  to  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  had 
gone,  at  different  times,  among  those  people,  and  once,  after 
the  general  peace,  to  Augusta.  They  there  demanded  of 
them  a  grant  of  lands,  belonging  to  and  enjoyed  as  hunt- 
ing-grounds by  the  Indians  of  this  nation,  in  common,  on 
the  east  of  the  Oconee  river.  The  Chiefs  rejected  the  de- 
mand, on  the  plea,  that  these  lands  were  the  hunting- 
grounds  of  the  nation,  and  could  not  be  granted  by  two 
individuals ;  but,  after  a  few  daj's,  a  promise  was  extorted 
from  them,  that,  on  their  return  to  our  country,  they 
would  use  their  influence  to  get  a  grant  confirmed.  Upon 
their  return,  a  generalconvention  washeldat  Tookabatcha, 
when  these  two  Chiefs  were    severel}'  censured,  and  the 


182  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Chiefs  of  ninety-eight  towns  agreed  upon  a  talk,  to  be  sent 
to  Savannah,  disapproving,  in  the  strongest  manner,  of  the 
demand  made  upon  their  nation,  and  denying  the  right  of 
any  two  of  their  country  to  make  cession  of  land,  which 
could  only  be  valid  bj'  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  whole, 
as  joint  proprietors  in  common.  Yet  these  two  Chiefs,  re- 
gardless of  the  voice  of  the  nation,  continued  to  go  to 
Augusta,  and  other  places  within  the  State.  They  re- 
ceived presents  and  made  promises ;  but  our  customs  did 
not  permit  us  to  punish  them  for  the  crime.  We  warned  the 
Georgians  of  the  dangerous  consequences  that  would 
certainly  attend  the  settling  of  the  lands  in  question.  Our 
just  remonstrances  were  treated  with  contempt,  and  these 
lands  were  soon  filled  with  settlers.  The  nation,  justly 
alarmed  at  the  encroachments,  resolved  to  use  force  to 
maintain  their  rights,  A^et,  being  averse  to  the  shedding  of 
the  blood  of  a  people  w^hom  we  would  rather  consider  as 
friends,  we  made  another  effort  to  awaken  in  them  a  sense 
of  justice  and  equity.  But  we  found,  from  experience,  that 
entreaty  could  not  prevail,  and  parties  of  warriors  were 
sent,  to  drive  off  the  intruders,  but  were  instructed  to  shed 
blood,  only,  where  self-preservation  made  it  necessary. 

This  was  in  Maj^  1786.  In  October  following  we  were 
invited  by  commissioners,  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  to  meet 
them  in  conference,  at  the  Oconee,  professing  a  sincere  desire 
for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  our  disputes,  and  pledging 
their  sacred  honors  for  the  safetj^  and  good  treatment  of  all 
those  who  should  attend  and  meet  them.  It  not  being 
convenient  for  many  of  us  to  go  to  the  proposed  conference, 
a.  few,  from  motives  of  curiositj-,  attended.  They  were  sur- 
prised to  find  an  armed  body  of  men,  prepared  for  and  pro- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  183 

fessing  hostile  intentions.  Apprehensions  for  personal 
safetv  induced  those  Chiefs  to  subscribe  to  every  demand 
that  was  asked  by  the  army  and  its  commissioners.  Lands 
were  again  demanded,  and  the  lives  of  some  of  our  Chiefs 
were  required,  as  well  as  those  of  some  innocent  traders,  as 
a  sacrifice  to  appease  their  anger.  Assassins  have  been 
employed  to  effect  some  part  of  their  atrocious  purpose.  If 
I  fall  by  the  hand  of  such,  I  shall  fall  the  victim  of  the 
noblest  of  causes,  that  of  maintaining  the  just  rights  of 
my  country.  I  aspire  to  the  honest  ambition  of  meriting 
the  appellation  of  the  preserver  of  my  countrj',  equally 
with  the  Chiefs  among  a'ou,  whom,  from  acting  on  such 
principles,  j'ou  have  exalted  to  the  highest  pitch  of  glory. 
And  if,  after  every  peaceable  mode  of  obtaining  redress  of 
grievances  proved  fruitless,  a  recourse  to  arms  to  obtain  it 
be  a  mark  of  the  savage,  and  not  of  the  soldier,  what 
savages  must  the  Americans  be,  and  how  much  undeserved 
applause  has  your  Cincinnatus,  j-^our  Fabius,  obtained.  If 
a  war  name  had  been  necessary  to  distinguish  that  Chief, 
in  such  a  case,  the  Man-Killer,  the  Great  Destroyer,  would 
have  been  the  proper  appellation. 

I  had  appointed  the  Cussetas,  for  all  the  Chiefs  of  the  Lower 
Creeks  to  meet  in  convention.  I  shall  be  down  in  a  few 
days,  when,  from  j'our  timely  arrival,  you  will  meet  the 
Chiefs,  and  learn  their  sentiments,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that 
the  propositions  which  you  shall  offer  us  will  be  such  as  we 
can  safely  accede  to.  The  talks  of  the  former  commissioners, 
at  Galphinton,  were  much  approved  of,  and  your  coming 
from  the  White  Town  (seat  of  Congress)  has  raised  great 
expectations,  that  you  will  remove  the  principal  and  almost 
only  cause  of  our  dispute,  that  is,  by  securing  to  us  our 


184  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

hunting-grounds  and  possessions,  free  from  all  encroach- 
ments.   When  we  meet,  we  shall  talk  these  matters  over. 

Meantime,  I  remain, 
With  regard,  your  obedient  servant, 

Alexander  McGillivray.* 
Hon.  James  White, 

The  foregoing  letter  illustrates  the  troubles 
the  Georgians  were  giving  the  Creeks, 
and  the  call  they  made  upon  McGillivray's 
abilities  and  influence  over  his  people,  in  order 
to  avoid  a  state  of  war.  No  result  was  reached 
by  the  Cussetas  talk.  Matters  remained  in  the 
same  unsatisfactory  condition  after  as  before  it, 
and  so  continued  until  after  General  Washington 
became  President  of  the  United  States  in  1789. 

He  appointed  a  new  set  of  commissioners  to 
effect  a  settlement,  but  these,  like  the  others, 
failed  to  reach  a  favorable  result.  On  the  other 
hand,  their  reports  were  so  alarming  that  he  at 
first  regarded  war  as  the  only  remedy  for  the 
troubles  existing  between  the  Georgians  and 
the  Creeks.  But,  wisely  concluding  that  the 
country  was  not  then  able  to  bear  the  burden 
of  such  a  costly  corrective,   he  determined  to 


*  Indian  Affairs,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  18-23. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  185 

make  another  effort  at  conciliation.  In  this 
frame  of  mind  the  happ}^  thought  occurred  to 
him,  that  a  personal  interview  between  him 
and  McGillivray  might  be  attended  by  results 
which  commissioners  had  failed  to  reach. 
Acting  upon  it,  he  sent  an  agent  to  the  Creek 
nation,  in  the  person  of  Colonel  Marius  Willet, 
to  induce  McGillivray  to  visit  New  York.  The 
mission  was  successful.  McGillivray  in  June, 
1790,  at  the  head  of  thirt}'  of  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  confederacy,  set  out  on  their  long 
journc}^  mounted  on  horses. 

A  stage  of  the  journey  brought  them  to  Guild- 
ford Court  House,  where  they  were  honored  by 
a  large  assembly  of  the  neighborhood.  Sudden- 
ly the  throng  around  the  Great  Chief  opens  to  a 
woman,  who  rushes  up  to  him,  her  face  bathed 
in  tears,  and  then,  with  blessings  upon  him, 
expresses  her  gratitude  for  a  good  deed  done  by. 
him  3'ears  before,  of  which  she  and  her  children 
were  the  beneficiaries.  In  an  Indian  raid  her 
husband  had  been  killed,  and  she  and  her  chil- 
dren carried  into  captivity.  Her  benefactor 
hearing  of  their  melancholy  fate  redeemed  them, 
and  gave  them  a  home  in  his  own  house,  until 


186  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

an  opportunity^  was  afforded  of  sending  them 
to  their  friends.  He  was  received  with  dis- 
tinguished consideration  at  Richmond  and 
Fredericksburg.  Philadelphia  honored  him 
and  his  company  with  a  three  da^'s'  entertain- 
ment. Colonel  Willet,  ^vho  accompanied  them, 
tells  us  that  upon  their  landing  in  New  York, 
the  Tammany  Societ}^  in  full  regalia,  received 
them,  attended  them  to  Congress  Hall,  and 
thence  to  the  residence  of  General  Washington. 
And  then  and  there,  w^ere  brought  face  to  face, 
the  most  remarkable  ^vhite  man,  and  the 
most  remarkable  red  man  the  western  hemis- 
phere had  then  produced. 

Whilst  the  chiefs  of  the  two  confederacies  are 
settling  their  relations,  an  interesting  event 
calls  our  thoughts  from  New  York  to  Alabama. 
The  impressive  influence  of  the  Great  Chiefs 
presence  was  no  sooner  v^^thdrawn,  than  a 
large  number  of  the  restless  Creeks  conceived 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  white  settlements 
on  the  Tensas,  which  had  been  increasing  rap- 
idly under  his  protection.  The  plan,  and  the 
time  for  its  execution  were  at  last  fixed.    But, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  187 

fortunately,  they  were  revealed  to  Mrs.  Sophia 
Durant,  the  sister  of  McGillivray. 

She  possessed  remarkable  command  of  the 
Muscogee  language,  coupled  with  the  gift  of 
oratory.  She  often  addressed  councils  at  the 
instance  of  her  brother,  who,  owing  to  his  long 
absence  from  his  people  in  his  youth,  as  well  as 
the  study  of  other  tongues,  had  lost  the  full 
command  of  his  own. 

At  the  time  she  was  informed  of  the  bloody 
scheme,  she  was  at  her  farm  on  Little  river. 
Although  far  under  the  shadow  of  maternity 
she  determines,  at  every  risk  to  herself,  by 
prompt  action,  to  save  an  unsuspecting  popula- 
tion from  the  terrible  fate  hanging  over  them. 
She  orders  two  horses  to  be  saddled  on  the 
instant.  She  mounts  one  and  her  trusty  negress 
the  other.  More  than  twice  two  score  human 
lives  depend  upon  her  reaching  Hickory-  Ground 
in  time,  and  that  required  a  ride  of  sixt}-  miles. 
Night  and  day  those  two  women  ride  on  that 
errand  of  mercy.  The  only  pause  was  when  an 
opportunity  offered  to  summon  a  chief  to  the 
Hickory  Ground  Council  House.  The  notice 
flies  from  chief  to  chief,  that  the  sister  of  the 


188  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Grand  Chief  has  called  a  council,  to  tell  them, 
doubtless,  what  he  had  said  to  her  on  **  talking 
paper."  From  all  quarters,  prompted  by  in- 
terest and  curiosity,  there  is  a  rush  for  the  Hick- 
ory Ground.  By  that  device,  worth^^  the  gen- 
ius of  her  brother,  the  council  is  promptly 
assembled.  She  addresses  them  with  a  tone  of 
mingled  authority  and  persuasion.  She  tells 
them  of  the  scheme  that  had  been  disclosed  to 
her;  upbraids  them  for  ingratitude  to  her 
brother,  then  with  the  Great  White  Chief, 
who  might  exact  from  him  and  his  thirty  com- 
panions the  lives  of  the  murdered  whites ;  warns 
them,  too,  of  the  vengeance  which  he  would  be 
compelled,  with  the  assistance  of  the  whites,  to 
visit  upon  the  murderers;  adding  all  those 
appeals  which  in  such  an  exigency  would  come 
swelling  up  from  the  heart  of  a  noble  woman. 
From  all  sides  of  the  assembly  come  pledges 
that  the  ringleaders  shall  be  seized,  and  the  en- 
terprise crushed;  and  promptly  and  efficiently 
it  w^as  done.  History,  story  and  art  have 
commemorated  the  saving  of  a  single  life  by 
Pocahontas;  but  how  insignificant  was  that 
act  compared  with  the  one  just  described !    The 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  189 

action  is  further  glorified  by  the  fact,  that 
within  two  weeks  after  the  noble  woman  had 
saved  so  many  human  beings,  she  added  an- 
other life  to  the  long  roll  of  the  living.* 

A  treaty  was  speedily  negotiated  between 
the  Creeks  and  the  United  States,  by  which  the 
Oconee  lands  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter 
were  ceded  for  an  annual  payment  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars,  and  a  distribution  of  merchan- 
dise. Questions  of  boundary  were  settled;  the 
Indian  territory  was  guaranteed  against  farth- 
er encroachment ;  a  permanent  peace  was  pro- 
vided for;  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles  placed 
themselves  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and  renounced  their  rights  to  make 
treaties  with  any  other  nation.  All  the  Indian 
Chiefs  besides  McGillivray  participated  in  the 
negotiation  and  execution  of  the  treaty. 

But  besides  that  open  one,  there  was  a  secret 
treaty  to  which  the  Grand  Chief  and  the  United 
States  only,  were  parties.  It  contained  a  stipu- 
lation, that  after  two  years  the  Indian  trade 
should  be  turned  to  points  in  the  United  States. 


'Pickett's  History  of  Alabama,  Vol.  II.  p.  127. 


190  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

It  provided  for  annual  stipends  to  be  paid  to 
designated  chiefs.  McGillivray  himself  was  ap- 
pointed Indian  agent  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  rank  of  a  Brigadier-General,  and  the  yearly 
pay  of  twelve  hundred  dollars.* 

These  treaties  were  the  grounds  of  severe 
criticism  upon  McGillivray.  B\^  the  open  treaty, 
it  w^as  said,  he  made  a  surrender  of  the  Oconee 
country  for  an  inadequate  consideration.  But 
the  obvious  answer  to  that  objection  w^as,  that 
he  had  exhausted  every  expedient  that  his  clear 
and  fertile  mind  could  command,  to  stay  the 
encroachments  of  the  Georgians  without  a  war, 
an  alternative  which  would  have  eventually 
ended  in  crushing  his  people.  Besides,  the 
plighted  faith  of  the  United  States,  that  no 
farther  encroachments  should  be  made  upon 
them,  was  to  them  a  consideration  far  exceed- 
ing every  other ;  for  history  had  not  then  declar- 
ed, as  it  has  since,  how  frail  a  barrier  against 
encroachments  upon  Indian  territory  is  the 
plighted  faith  of  the  nation. 

Whatever    personal    advantages  he    derived 


2  Pickett's  History  of  Alabama,  Vol.  II.  pp.  110-11. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  191 

from  the  secret  treaty,  whether  pecuniar}'^  or  in 
dignity,  inured  to  the  benefit  of  his  people.  To 
honor  him  was  to  give  consideration  to  them; 
and  they  regarded  the  tributes  which  his  abili- 
ties drew  from  the  British,  the  Spaniards,  and 
the  Americans,  as  so  man\'  offerings  made  to 
the  power  of  the  nation.  That  each  of  those 
tributaries  complained  that  he  was  not  their 
dupe,  is  alike  a  proof  of  his  ability,  and  his 
fidelity  to  his  people. 

For  a  short  time  after  the  New  York  Treaty 
he  seemed  to  be  losing  the  confidence  of  his 
people,  through  the  machinations  of  the  self- 
styled  General  Bowles,  w^ho,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, assisted  with  a  body  of  Choctaws, 
Chickasaws  and  Creeks,  in  the  defense  of  Pensa- 
cola  against  Galvez.  He  w^as  a  bold,  unprinci- 
pled mischief-maker,  who  would  stop  at  noth- 
ing that  could  be  turned  to  his  own  advantage ; 
one  of  those  characters  who  breed  suspicion  and 
create  confusion  for  their  own  profit  and  consid- 
eration. To  sap  the  confidence  of  the  Creeks 
in  their  Grand  Chief,  was  to  bring  about  an  un- 
settled condition  of  things  in  which  he  would 
find  himself  in  his  element ;   and  for  that  pur- 


192  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

pose  he  availed  himself  of  the  New  York  Treaty. 
It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  for  McGilli- 
vray  to  have  him  driven  out  of  the  nation,  or 
b}'  the  judgment  of  a  council  to  have  taken  his 
life;  but  neither  of  these  courses  suiting  his  pol- 
icy, he  resolved  upon  one  more  subtle  and  yd 
as  effectual.  He  visited  New  Orleans,  where  it 
w^as  conjectured  he  held  a  consultation  with 
Governor  Carondolet,  on  the  subject  of  ridding 
the  nation  of  the  mischief-maker.  Shortly  after- 
w^ards,  Bowles  was  seized  by  the  Spaniards  and 
sent  to  Spain.  Of  the  end  of  his  exile  we  are 
informed  b^^  a  letter  of  General  Washington's 
dated  at  Mount  Vernon,  fifth  of  August,  1793.* 
''On  m}"  way  to  this  place  I  saw  Captain  Bar- 
ney at  Baltimore,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
Havana.  He  says,  the  day  before  he  left  that 
place,  advice  had  been  received,  and  generally 
believed,  that  Bowles,  who  was  sent  to  Spain, 
had  been  hanged."  Thus  ended  a  chequered 
life,  full  of  adventures,  strange  phavSes,  and  bad 
deeds,  which  it  would  be  interesting  to  follow 
were  this  the  proper  place. 


*  The  same  letter  speaks  of  the  death  of  "onr   friend 
McGillivray,"    Sparks,  Vol.  10,  p,  335. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  193 

The  New  York  Treaty  was  an  object  of  sus- 
picion both  to  Pant  on  and  the  Spaniards, 
although  they  knew  nothing  of  its  secret  feature ; 
but  they  naturally  inferred  that  some  other  con- 
siderations, besides  those  made  public,  must 
have  induced  the  United  States  to  honor  Mc- 
Gillivray  with  the  commission  and  pay  of 
Brigadier-General. 

The  suspicion,  however,  resulted  profitably  to 
McGillivray.  Before  he  went  to  New  York  he 
complained  to  Panton  of  the  parsimonious  con- 
duct of  the  Spanish  government  to  him,  from 
whom  it  expected,  and  obtained,  so  much  care 
and  labor.  Believing  this  supposed  slight  on 
their  part  was  the  cause  of  the  favor  he  mani- 
fested for  the  Americans,  that  government  at 
once  took  steps  to  remove  it.  He  was  appoint- 
ed the  Spanish  Superintendent-General  of  the 
Creek  nation,  with  a  salary  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  to  which  fifteen  hundred  more  were 
shortly  afterwards  added. 

Soon  after  McGillivray  received  that  appoint- 
ment, the  Spanish  government  sent  to  the  Hick- 
ory Ground,  as  its  resident  agent,  Captain  Pedro 
Olivier,  accompanied  by  an  interpreter.      This 


194  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

man  soon  became  engaged  in  intrigues  to  pre- 
vent  the  running  of  the  boundary  lines  provid- 
ed for  by  the  New  York  Treat}' ;  and  in  this 
matter  he  was  assisted  by  WiUiam  Panton,  who 
visited  the  Creek  nation  for  that  purpose. 

This  state  of  things  naturally  excited  the  sus- 
picion of  the  United  States,  that  McGillivray 
was  co-operatmg  with  Panton  and  Olivier. 
Of  any  active  co-operation  by  him,  however, 
there  is  no  evidence,  as  there  is  none  of  his 
active  opposition  to  their  machinations.  He 
was  too  sagacious  a  man,  and  had  the  good 
of  his  people  too  much  at  heart  to  engage 
in  the  latter.  The  boundar\'  line  fixed  b}'  the 
treaty,  had  from  the  first,  been  exceedingly  ob- 
jectionable to  the  Creeks,  so  much  so,  that  even 
the  influence  of  their  Grand  Chief  had  failed  to 
reconcile  them  to  it.  Indeed,  he  himself  feared 
that  such  a  reconciliation  w^as  beyond  his  abili- 
ty. In  self-vindication,  in  the  midst  of  Olivier's 
intrigues,  he  writes  to  General  Knox,  Secretary 
of  War:  ^'You  recollect,  sir,  that  I  had  great 
objection  to  making  the  south  fork  of  the 
Oconee  the  limit;  and  when  you  insisted  so 
much,   I  candidly  told  you  that  it  might  be 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  195 

made  an  article,  but  I  would  not  pledge  myself 
to  get  it  confirmed."  It  was  against  the  run- 
ning of  that  boundary  line,  that  the  intrigues 
of  Olivier  and  Panton  were  ostensibly  directed ; 
but  their  real  object  was  to  keep  the  Creeks  in  a 
ferment  in  order  to  exclude  their  trade  from  the 
Atlantic  cities,  and  confine  it  to  Pensacola ;  the 
question  of  boundary  being  seized  upon  as  a 
means  of  accomplishing  that  end.  AlcGillivray's 
position  w^as  one  of  great  delicacy  and  responsi- 
bility. For  him  to  resist  by  active  opposition 
those  who  opposed  the  running  of  the  boundary 
line,  was  not  only  to  do  something  he  had 
never  undertaken  to  do,  but  to  take  a  stand 
that  might  divide  his  people  into  two  hostile 
camps,  the  most  calamitous  condition  that 
could  befall  them. 

In  the  midst  of  these  trials,  death  came  to  his 
relief  on  the  seventeenth  of  February,  1793,  at 
Pensacola,  whilst  on  a  visit  to  William  Panton. 
He  was  buried  with  masonic  honors,  and,  it  is 
said,  in  Panton's  garden.  Unfortunately  the 
identity  of  the  spot  has  defied  diligent  investiga- 
tion, and  generations  have  unconsciousK'  dese- 
crated his  dust,  as  they  have  that  of  another  dis- 


196  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

tinguished  man  already  mentioned .  But  the  sus- 
picion arises  that  to  a  different  cause  must  be 
attributed  the  oblivion  that  has  befallen  the 
last  resting  place  of  the  Great  Chief,  from  that 
which  has  been  assigned  in  the  case  of  General 
Bouquet's.  Had  Panton  erected  a  respectable 
brick  monument  even,  over  the  remains  of  one 
for  whom  he  professed  so  much  friendship,  and 
who  had  done  so  much  to  increase  his  fortune, 
reverently  protecting  it  up  to  the  time  he  left 
Florida,  this  generation  might  be  able  to  direct 
the  footsteps  of  the  stranger  to  the  tomb  of  the 
most  remarkable  man  to  whom  Alabama  ever 
gave  birth,  and  the  most  extraordinary  man 
to  whom  Florida  has  furnished  a  grave. 

He  has  been  accused  of  deceit  and  duplicity  in 
his  dealings  with  the  British,  the  Spaniards  and 
Americans.  But  truth  and  candor,  if  not  exot- 
ics, are  not  virile  growths  in  the  domain  of 
state  craft,  while  necessity  is  the  ever  read}^  plea 
on  which  adepts  in  the  art,  or  their  apologists, 
rest  their  vindication.  When,  therefore,  the 
Great  Indian  stands  condemned  at  the  Bar  of 
Eternal  Truth,  well  may  other  statesmen  and 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  197 

diplomatists  whose  achievements    history    de- 
lights to  record,  shrink  from  the  Judgment  Seat. 

The  Grand  Chief  watched  without  interference 
the  struggle  of  the  Spanish  and  British  for  su- 
premacy in  West-Florida,  because  the  true 
interests  of  his  people  pointed  to  neutrality. 
Cavour,  the  ablest  and  purest  statesman  of 
recent  times,  from  a  like  patriotic  motive  stood 
ready,  in  case  of  failure,  to  disavow,  the  inva- 
sion of  Naples  b^^  Garibaldi,  which  he  had, 
nevertheless,  secretly  promoted.  If  the  New 
York  treat}^  was  a  gross  violation  of  the  Pensa- 
cola  treaty  of  1784,  Washington  and  his  cabi- 
net invited,  and  encouraged,  whatever  of  bad 
faith  there  was  in  the  transaction. 

The  defense  of  such  characters  must  rest  at 
last  upon  the  final  judgment  oftheir  own  nation 
upon  their  life  work.  So  judged,  McGillivray 
is  entitled  to  no  low  place  on  the  roll  of  patri- 
otic statesmen. 

For  seventeen  years,  dating  from  the  Creek 
troubles  in  1776,  up  to  his  death,  he  had  been 
the  guide  and  shield  of  his  people.  For  them 
those  were  years  of  comparative  peace,  growth, 
and   preparation  for  the  white  man's  civiliza- 


198  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

tion,  by  the  example  afforded  in  his  own  person 
of  its  benefits  and  attractions.  With  war  rag- 
ing around  them,  under  his  guidance,  thc}^ 
reached  a  condition  which  caused  him  to  be 
honored,  and  their  alliance  sought  by  two  mon- 
archs  and  a  Great  Republic.  He  moved 
amongst  them  enjoying  the  reverence  and  honor 
of  a  patriarchal  sheik.  Intrigue  and  detraction 
brought  him  under  a  transient  cloud.  But  when 
they  learned  his  life  was  closed  in  death,  their 
hearts  were  smitten  as  those  of  a  family  when 
it  loses  its  head.  There  went  up  from  the 
Creek  land  an  universal  wail ;  and  again,  like  a 
sinister  prophecy  of  evil,  there  came  over  it  the 
shadow  it  was  under  before  the  council  of 
Cow^eta. 

Bitter,  too,  to  his  people,  was  the  thought, 
that  he  slept  in  the  ''sands  of  the  Seminoles,'^ 
and  not  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Coosa, 
which  he  loved  so  well;  where  he  was  born, 
w^here  he  had  presided  over  councils,  and  made 
"paper  talk "  for  their  good, and  where  his  hos- 
pitality was  ever  ready,  alike  for  the  distin- 
guished stranger  and  the  humble  wa^'farer. 

The   fate    of  Milfort    may   interest    the    reader.      After 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  199 

the  death  of  McGillivray  he  returned  to  France,  where 
in  1802  he  published  the"Memoire  De  Mon  Sejour  Dans 
La  Nation  Creek, "  to  which  we  owe  the  preservation  of 
the  traditions  of  that  people.  But  sad  to  relate,  forgetting 
his  Indian  wife,  he  married  a  French  woman.  He  was 
made  General  of  Brigade  b^-  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  He 
died  in  1814.  His  French  wife  was  burned  to  death  at 
an  advanced  asre  at  Rheims. 


200  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Governor  Folch — Barrancas — Changes  in  the  Plan  of  the 
Town — Ship  Pensacola — Disputed  Boundaries — Square 
Ferdinand  VII. — English  Names  of  Streets  Changed  for 
Spanish  Names — Palafox — Saragossa — Reding — Baj^len 
Romana — Alcaniz — Tarragona. 

Galvez  remained  but  a  short  time  in  Pensa- 
cola after  the  surrender  of  the  British.  On  their 
departure,  he  returned  to  New  Orleans,  the  cap- 
ital of  his  province  of  Louisiana. 

In  May,  1781,  Don  Arturo  O'Niell  was  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  Spanish  West-Florida,  and 
continued  to  hold  the  office  until  1792.  His 
successor  was  Enrique  White,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Francisco  de  Paula  Gelabert,  whose 
jad  interim  tenure  expired  in  1796,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  Vicente  Folch  y.  Juan. 

The  events  of  any  interest  which  occurred 
before  that  year,  have  been  already  mentioned 
in  previous  chapters.  Folch  signalized  the  early 
part  of  his  administration  by  causing  a  town 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  201 

to  be  laid  out,  "between  a  quarter  and  half  a 
mile"  from  San  Carlos,  that  fort  having  been 
reconstructed  between  1781  and  1796.*  This 
town  was  officially  known  as  San  Carlos  de 
Barrancas,  that  being  the  original  application 
to  the  locality  of  the  Spanish  word  barranca, 
signifying  broken,  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
term  is  applied  to  a  landscape. 

Folch's  purpose  in  laying  out  the  town  was, 
to  substitute  it  for  Pensacola,  as  the  chief  town 
and  capital  of  the  province.  Of  the  real  motives 
w^hich  prompted  the  design  no  information  can 
be  obtained.  His  scheme  was  defeated,  how- 
ever, by  his  inability  to  procure  for  it  the  royal 
approval ;  the  probable  result  of  an  appeal  to 
the  King  by  the  inha^bitants  of  Pensacola. 

He  afterwards  attempted  an  important 
change  in  the  English  plan,  by  la3dng  off  into 
blocks  and  lots,  so  much  of  the  park,  or  public 
place  as  is  now  embraced  in  the  area  between 
Intendencia  and  Government  streets.  He  also 
sold  many  of  the  lots,  which  the  purchasers  pro- 
ceeded to  improve.     But,  when  Intendant  Mor- 


American  State  Papers,  Public  Lands,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  136. 


202  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

ales  visited  the  town  in  1806,  he  utterly  disap- 
proved of  Folch's  proceedings,  and  refused  to 
confirm  the  titles  of  the  vendees.  Morales'  sub- 
sequent conduct  in  the  matter,  how^ever,  shows 
that  in  refusing  his  confirmation  he  was  in- 
fluenced more  by  inimical  feeling  against  the 
governor,  than  any  just  sense  of  public  dut}-, 
for  he  himself  afterwards  granted  the  lots.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  mutilation  of  the  great 
public  place  according  to  the  English  plan ;  a 
mutilation  which  was  continued  from  time  to 
time,  until  there  was  nothing  left  but  the  two 
small  plats  of  ground  known  as  Seville  Square, 
and  that  of  Ferdinand  VII. 

Ilis  administration  in  one  of  its  earlier  years 
was  marked  by  one  event  for  which  his  genera- 
tion is  entitled  to  credit.  A  ship  of  800  tons  was 
built  at  CaranarOy  as  the  cove  in  which  the 
Marine  Railway  is  now  situated  was  then 
known.  Her  name  was  Pensacola,  and  during 
the  decade  from  1870,  she  was  still  in  existence, 
making  voyages  to  and  from  Spanish  ports. 
This  was  the  first,  and  thus  far,  the  last  private 
enterprise  of  the  kind  by  Pensacolians. 

In  1804,  the  firm  of  William  Panton  &  Co., 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  203 

was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  William  Panton, 
who  had  been,  as  we  have  seen,  so  prominent  a 
figure  in  the  history  of  Pensacola,  both  under 
the  British  and  Spanish  rule.  The  business  of 
the  firm  was  thenceforward  carried  on  under 
the  style  of  John  Forbes  &  Co. 

In  October,  1800,  Bonaparte  compelled  Spain 
bvthe  treatv  of  San  Ildefonso  to  cede  Louisiana 
to  France ;  and  France,  in  1803,  sold  and  ceded 
it  to  the  United  States.  The  United  States, 
from  the  time  of  the  purchase,  claimed  that  it 
extended  eastward  to  the  Perdido,  which  was 
the  eastern  boundary  of  Louisiana  in  the  days 
of  d'Arriolaand  Iberville,  and  so  remained  until 
the  cession,  in  1763,  to  Great  Britain  of  Florida 
by  Spain,  and  of  that  portion  of  Louisiana 
south  of  the  31  parallel  of  N.  latitude,  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  by  France.  The  British,  after 
that  cession,  in  creating  the  province  of  West- 
Florida,  extended  it  from  the  Chattahoochee  to 
the  Mississippi.  Spain,  on  the  other  hand,  after 
the  treat}'  of  Versailles,  restricted  W^est-Florida 
to  the  Perdido,  she  being  at  that  time  the  owner 
of  the  whole  of  Louisiana.  When,  therefore,  she 
ceded  Louisiana  to  France,  it  was,  as  claimed 


204  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

by  the  United  States,  Louisiana  beginning  west- 
ward of  the  Perdido;  for  by  contracting  the 
West-Florida  of  the  British,  she,  to  that  extent, 
extended  Louisiana  to  its  original  limit,  and 
left  Pensacola  within  the  boundary  line  tacitly 
established  by  the  expeditions  of  Arriola  and 
Iberville.  Spain  did  not,  however,  consent  to 
that  construction.  She  claimed  that  British 
West-Florida  was  not  embraced  in  Louisiana ; 
and  the  question  was  not  finally  settled  until 
1819,  when  Florida  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States.  It  was,  from  1803,  up  to  that  cession, 
a  cause  of  ill  feeling  and  secret  hostility  on  the 
part  of  Spanish  officials  at  Pensacola,  towards 
the  American  settlers  in  the  disputed  district. 

Folch's  official  term  extended  to  1809,  and 
in  the  number  of  sovereign  masters  to  whom 
he  was  subject  during  one  year  of  his  adminis- 
tration, his  official  life  was  remarkable.  He  was 
commissioned  bv  Charles  IV.,  who  abdicated  the 
throne  of  Spain  in  March,  1808.  Upon  his  ab- 
dication, his  eldest  son,  the  Prince  of  Asturias, 
was  proclaimed  King,  under  the  title  of  Ferdi- 
nand VII.  On  May  10,  Bonaparte,  having  in- 
sidiously enticed  Ferdinand  to  Bayonne,  com- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  205 

pelled  him,  b\'  threats  against  his  life,  to  resign 
his  crown.  On  June  sixth,  of  the  same  year, 
Joseph  Bonaparte  was  proclaimed  King  of 
Spain,  by  no  other  real  authority  than  the  will 
of  his  imperial  brother. 

Never  did  any  event  arouse  the  patriotic 
resentment  of  a  people,  as  Spain's  was 
aroused,  by  the  ignominy  of  witnessing  her  law- 
ful King  deposed,  to  enable  an  adventurer  to 
assume  his  crown.  The  French  Emperor  march- 
ed army  after  army  into  the  country,  to  estab- 
lish the  new  dynast}^  by  overawing  the  people 
into  submission.  But  army  corps  led  by  mar- 
shals, whose  names  had  theretofore  been  the  syn- 
onyms of  victory,  only  intensified  the  spirit  of 
resistance.  As  one  man,  from  the  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  the  popula- 
tion flew  to  arms.  Alountain  and  plain,  hill 
and  valley,  rang  with  their  battle  cry  as  they 
hastened  to  their  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  to 
be  or"[anized  into  militarv  commands.  The 
patriotic  passion  that  fired  every  heart  in  the 
Kingdom,  was  shared  b3'  Spaniards  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe.  Of  the  sympathy  of  Pensa- 
cola  with  the  great  patriotic  movement  in  the 


206  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES   OF 

mother  country,  there  exists  memorials  m  the 
names  of  some  of  its  streets,  and  its  chief  public 
square. 

It  was  in  the  fervorof  that  s^'mpathy  that  the 
square  received  the  name  of  the  exiled  monarch ; 
a  token  of  loyalty,  of  which,  however,  he 
proved  himself  unworthy  by  his  conduct  after 
his  restoration  to  the  throne.  Never  had  a 
monarch  a  better  opportunity^  of  making  his 
reign  happ}^  and  illustrious,  and  never  did  one 
under  such  conditions  make  it  a  source  of 
greater  shame  to  himself,  and  misery  to  his 
people.  He  was  not  by  nature  a  cruel,  or  a  bad 
man ;  but  he  was  neither  firm  nor  truthful ; 
two  weaknesses  in  a  ruler  which  may  prove  as 
fruitful  a  source  of  political  crimes  as  a  natural 
inclination  to  evil  actions.  In  his  first  procla- 
mation after  re-ascending  the  throne,  amid  the 
enthusiastic  joy  of  his  people,  he  said,  *' I  detest, 
I  abhor  despotism;"  yet  he,  afterwards,  lent 
himself  to  schemes  which  deprived  Spain  of 
constitutional  government,  restored  the  inqui- 
sition, and  led  to  proscriptions  involving  the 
lives  of  some  of  the  patriots  who  had  contrib- 
uted so  largely  to  the  restoration  of  his  crown. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  207 

The  cruel  and  despotic  policy  of  his  advisers,  at 
len^h,  drove  the  liberal  party  into  a  wide- 
spread revolt,  which  would  have  resulted  in  his 
permanent  dethronement,  but  for  the  interven- 
tion of  the  French,  who,  in  1823,  enabled  him 
by  their  arms  to  keep  on  his  head  the  crown 
they  had  snatched  from  it  in  1808. 

But,  if  in  the  chief  square  of  the  town  there 
be  a  reminder  of  a  perfidious  monarch,  there 
are  in  some  of  its  streets  memorials  of  Spanish 
glory. 

The  English  names  of  those  streets  were 
changed  to  the  names  they  bear,  at  the  time 
when  the  events  with  which  the  latter  are 
associated  occurred,  and  were  designed  to  be 
commemorative  monuments  of  the  glor\^  shed 
upon  old  Spain  by  the  illustrious  deeds  of  her 
sons.  Upon  their  being  monumental,  must  rest 
the  apology-  for  a  slight  retracing  of  their 
legends,  which  would  otherwise  be  out  of  place 
in  this  book. 

Palafox  and  Saragossa,  or  Zaragoza,  are  the 
first  to  arrest  attention,  as  they  are  likewise 
suggestive  one  of  the  other. 

Jose  de  Palafox  y  Melzi,  whose  ancestral  scat 


208  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

was  near  the  city  of  Zaragoza,  was  in  1808,  a 
young  officer  of  the  King's  guards.  He  accom- 
panied Ferdinand  on  his  visit  to  Bayonne, 
which  ended  in  the  King's  abdication.  It  was 
by  him  the  captive  King  sent  the  instructions 
to  the  Junta  which  w^as  to  exercise  the  sover- 
eignty^ of  the  Spanish  people  during  the  exile  of 
their  monarch.  Having  performed  that  duty, 
Palafox  went  to  Zaragoza,  to  join  in  the 
uprising  of  Aragon,  of  which  it  was  the  capital. 
Despite  his  lack  of  years  and  experience,  his 
commanding  presence  led  the  Aragonese,  full  of 
patriotic  ardor  and  warlike  impulse,  to  choose 
him  as  their  leader,  and  proclaim  him  Captain 
General  of  Aragon.  In  a  short  time  he  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  infantry, 
two  hundred  horse,  and  eight  pieces  of  artillery. 
Zaragoza,  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Ebro,  was,  in  1808,  a  city  of  fifty  thousand 
inhabitants.  It  stood  in  the  midst  of  an  allu- 
vial plain,  rich  in  its  olive  trees,  its  vineyards, 
and  agricultural  products.  Its  fortifications 
consisted  of  a  brick  wall  not  above  ten  feet 
high  and  three  in  thickness,  pierced  for  guns, 
but  few  were  in  the  embrasures.    At  intervals, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  209 

however,  there  were  convents,  castles,  and 
Other  solid  stone  structures.  The  universal 
uprising  of  the  Aragonese,  and  the  proximity  of 
the  city  to  the  French  frontiers,  suggested  it  a-s 
one  of  the  most  important  points  for  the  French 
to  occupy,  in  the  execution  of  their  designs  to 
subjugate  Spain.  It  was,  accordingly,  one  of 
the  first  places  against  which  a  military  force 
was  sent. 

In  June  1808,  Napoleon  ordered  Lefebvre  to 
advance  against  it  from  the  Pyrenian  frontier. 
His  advance  was  interrupted  b\'  three  battles, 
in  w^hich  the  raw  and  undisciplined  Aragonese 
peasants  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  the  French 
column,  but  were  in  each  instance  driven  back. 
Lefebvre  at  last  presented  himself  before 
Zaragoza,  with  a  demand  for  its  submission. 
To  that  demand  Palafox  made  the  memorable 
reply,  "War  to  the  knife;"  a  reply  that  fore- 
shadowed the  terrific  struggle  by  which  those 
old  brick  walls  w^ere  to  be  won  by  the  enemy. 
In  every  attack  the  French  made  upon  the  gates 
and  walls,  between  the  twelfth  of  June  and 
August  fifteenth,  they  were  repulsed  with 
fearful    loss.       Lefebvre,    discouraged    by    his 


210  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

successive  failures  to  carry  the  place  by  storm, 
drew  off  his  army  to  await  the  arrival  of  heavy 
artiller}',  to  enable  him  to  undertake  a  regular 
siege. 

The  second  attempt  on  Zaragoza  began  in 
December,  1808.  In  the  interval  between  this 
and  the  first  attack  the  defences  had  been 
greatl}'  strengthened,  and  a  large  supply  of  arms 
procured.  As  the  French  columns  advanced 
towards  the  cit}^  there  was  presented  a  specta- 
cle not  often  witnessed  by  one  doomed  to  a 
siege.  The  entire  population,  men,  Avomenand 
children,  were  engaged  in  the  work  of  preparing 
for  resistance.  None  left  the  walls,  but  on  the 
contrary  the  peasantry  of  the  surrounding 
country  rushed  within  them  to  share  in  the 
perilous  defence.  By  the  time  the  French  took 
their  position  around  the  city,  it  had  within 
it  fifty  thousand  defenders,  the  most  of  them 
undisciplined  and  uninured  to  arms,  j^et  animat- 
ed with  the  spirit  of  their  leader's  reply  to 
Lefebvre's  demand  of  surrender. 

The  French  force  consisted  of  two  army  corps 
of  fifty  thousand  men,  commanded  by  Marshals 
Moncey  and  Montier,  with  all  the  necessary 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  211 

artillery  and  appliances  for  a  siege.  For  fifty 
days  after  the  French  artillery  began  to  play 
upon  the  city  the  conflict  between  the  besieged 
and  the  besiegers  was  incessant.  In  that  time, 
thirty-three  thousand  cannon  shot,  and  sixteen 
thousand  bombs  had  been  hurled  against  the 
place.  When  a  breach  was  made  in  the  wall, 
immediately  and  under  the  terrific  fire  of  the 
enemy  it  was  closed  up  with  sand  bags.  If  at 
any  point  an  entry  was  made  within  them  by 
the  besiegers,  the  stone  houses  became  citadels 
for  the  besieged.  If  the  defenders  were  driven 
from  a  room,  a  stand  was  made  in  the  next  one. 
Women  and  children  shared  in  the  labors  and 
the  perils  of  the  fight.  As  a  gunner  fell  at  the 
feet  of  his  wife,  stricken  down  by  a  cannon  shot, 
she  promptly  took  his  place  at  the  gun. 
Napoleon,  dissatisfied  with  the  slow  progress 
made  b^^  Moncey  and  Montier  towards  a 
reduction  of  the  place,  sent  Junot  to  take  the 
command.  Becoming  dissatisfied  with  him,  he 
sent  Lannes  to  bring  the  operations  to  a  close. 
Pestilence,  too,  came  to  his  aid  as  well  as  addi- 
tional forces  sent  by  the  Emperor.  At  last  Pala- 
fox  was  confined  to  his  bed  with  the  prevailing 


212  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

epidemic.  The  French  soldiers  were  at  the  same 
time  depressed  by  the  fierce  and  uninterrupted 
conflict.  ''Scarce  a  fourth  of  the  town  is  won,  " 
said  one  of  them,  ''and  we  are  already  exhaust- 
ed. We  shall  all  perish  amongst  these  ruins, 
which  will  become  our  own  tombs,  before  we 
can  force  the  last  of  these  fanatics  from  the  last 
of  their  dens.'*  With  the  assailants  thus  de- 
pressed, and  the  besieged  deprived  of  the  pres- 
ence and  encouragement  of  their  leader,  besides 
the  havoc  of  pestilence,  a  favorable  capitulation 
was  accepted  by  Marshal  Lannes.  The  regular 
troops  marched  out  of  the  walls  with  the 
honors  of  war,  and  were  sent  as  prisoners  into 
France,  each  soldier  retaining  his  knapsack,  the 
officers  their  horses  and  side  arms.  The  peas- 
ants ^were  dismissed,  and  private  property  was 
respected.  Fifty  thousand  human  beings  per- 
ished during  the  siege,  all,  except  six  thousand, 
from  pestilence.  Palafox  remained  a  prisoner 
in  France  until  1814,  when  he  returned  to 
Spain.  He  was  afterwards  created  Duke  of 
Zaragoza,  and  died  in  1847. 

Of  this  siege  a  British  historian    has  said : 
*' Modern  Europe  has  not  such  a  memorable 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  213 

siege  to  recount ;  and  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
even  after  Spain  and  France  have  sunk  before 
the  waves  of  time,  and  all  the  glories  of  modern 
Europe  have  passed  away,  it  will  stand  forth 
in  undecaying  lustre;  a  monument  of  heroic 
devotion,  which  will  thrill  the  hearts  of  the 
brave  and  generous  throughout  every  succeed- 
ing age.  "* 

Baylen,  a  parallel  street  with  Palafox,  next 
invites  notice.  Bavlen  is  a  small  town  at  the 
foot  of  the  Sierra  Morena,  on  the  road  leading 
from  Cadiz  to  Cordova  and  Seville.  There,  on 
July  nineteenth,  1808,  the  French  General 
Dupont,  after  his  recent  plunder  of  Cordova, 
with  excesses  more  in  keeping  with  the  days  of 
Alaric,  than  the  nineteenth  century,  was,  with 
20,000  men,  and  all  their  plunder,  compelled  to 
surrender,  after  a  series  of  battles  to  a  Spanish 
army,  largely  made  up  of  irregular  Spanish 
troops. 

To  Reding,  a  Swiss  in  the  service  of  Spain, 
was  due  the  glory  of  the  event,  which  excited 
profound    attention  throughout  Europe,   and 


*  Allison's  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  III.,  p.  301. 


214-  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

made  a  deep  and  sinister  impression  on  the 
French. 

Of  the  "catastrophe"  Napoleon,  who  was  at 
Bordeaux  when  he  heard  of  it,  said :  **  That  an 
army  should  be  beaten,  is  nothing;  it  is  the 
daily  fate  of  war  and  is  easily  repaired;  but 
that  an  army  should  submit  to  a  dishonorable 
capitulation  is  a  stain  upon  the  glory  of  our 
arms  which  can  never  be  effaced.  Wounds  in- 
flicted on  honor  are  incurable.  The  moral  effect 
of  this  catastrophe  will  be  terrible. "  Baylen 
was  doubtless  the  first  link  in  the  chain  of 
events  which  drew  from  him  the  reflection  in 
which  he  indulged  at  St.  Helena :  "It  was  that 
unhappy  war  in  Spain  which  ruined  me.  '* 

Romana  street  bears  the  name  of  the  most 
illustrious  General  Spain  produced  during  her 
great  Peninsula  war — the  Marquis  de  Romana. 
He  was  one  of  those  great  and  generous  charac- 
ters who  are  too  great  and  generous  to  be 
moved  by  selfishness  or  envy,  and  was  in  con- 
sequence the  bond  of  union  between  the  English 
and  Spanish  armies.  He  was  marching  to  the 
relief  of  Badajoz,  when  he  was  seized  with  heart 
disease  at  Cartaxo,  where  he  died  suddenly  Jan- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  215 

uary  22,  1811.  It  is  enough  for  his  fame  for 
him  to  have  been  the  subject  of  the  following 
dispatch  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  :  '*In  the 
Marquis  de  Romana,  the  Spanish  army  has  lost 
its  brightest  ornament,  his  country  its  most 
upright  patriot,  and  the  world  the  most  stren- 
uous and  zealous  defender  in  the  cause  in  which 
we  are  engaged ;  and  I  shall  always  acknowl- 
edge with  gratitude  the  assistance  w^hich  I 
received  from  him,  as  well  by  his  operation,  as 
by  his  counsel,  since  he  has  been  joined  w^ith  the 

army." 

Alcaniz  is  a  reminder  of  another  field  of 
Spanish  glory.  It  is  the  name  of  a  town  in  Ar- 
ason,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Guadalupe,  sixty 
miles  south-east  of  Zaragoza.  It  was,  on  May 
twenty-third,  1809,  the  scene  of  the  defeat  of  a 
French  army  under  Suchet  by  the  Spanish  forces 
under  General  Blake. 

Tarragona  street  commemorates  one  of  those 
sieges  like  that  of  Saragossa,  which  signalize 
the  Spanish  race  above  all  others,  for  the  tenac- 
ity and  devotion  with  which  in  all  ages  it  has 
defended  its  homes.  The  city  of  that  name, 
situated  on  the  Mediterranean  shore  of  Spain, 


216  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

Avas  besieged  bj^  Suchet,  and  defended  by  Gen- 
eral Cortinas,  from  Ma\'  4,  to  June  29, 
1811.  The  defense  was  conducted  with 
the  same  fierce  obstinacy  and  courage  which 
marked  that  of  Saragossa,  and  with  even 
greater  mortalitj^,  if  allowance  is  made  for  the 
ravages  of  pestilence  in  the  latter.  But  there 
was  a  vast  difference  in  the  finalitv  of  the  two 
sieges.  Tarragona  was  taken  by  assault;  and 
never  did  American  savages  exercise  more 
demon-like  fury  upon  unresisting  and  powerless 
humanity  than  the  French  troops  visited  upon 
the  Tarragonese.  Above  six  thousand  human 
beings  comprising  all  ages,  and  both  sexes, 
were  massacred  w^hilst  appealing  for  mercy. 
"The  blood  of  the  Spaniards  inundated  the 
streets  and  the  houses.  Armed  and  unarmed, 
men  and  women,  gra^'  hairs  and  infant  inno- 
cence, attractive  youth  and  wrinkled  age,  were 
alike  butchered  by  the  infuriated  troops.  "* 


*  Allison's  Historj'  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  III.,  p.  4-22. 


ff 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  217 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Folch  Leaves  West  Florida — His  Successors — War  of  1812 
— Tecumseh's  Visit  to  the  Seminoles  and  Creeks — 
Consequences — Fort  Mims — Percj-  and  Nicholls'  Expe- 
dition. 

In  October,  1809,  Folch  left  Pensacola  to  fill 
the  appointment  of  Governor  of  the  country 
west  of  the  Perdido,  the  capital  of  which  was 
Mobile.  The  uneventful  period,  for  Pensacola 
at  least,  between  that  j^ear  and  1813,  was 
marked  only  by  the  incoming  and  outgoing  of 
governors.  Folch's  successor  was  his  son-in- 
law,  Don  Francisco  Maximiliano  de  Saint 
Alaxent,  under  an  ad  interim  appointment.  In 
July  1812,  he  was  succeeded  by  Mauricio 
Zuniga,  who  in  May,  1813,  gave  place  to  Alateo 
Gurzalez  Maurique,  whose  administration 
covered  the  period  of  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  which  was 
declared  by  the  former,  on  June  18,  1812. 


218  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

That  Pensacola  should  have  been  involved  in 
that  struggle  would  seem  to  be  out  of  the 
natural  order  of  events,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  Spain  and  the  United  States  were  at  peace. 
But,  as  before  intimated,  there  existed  a  covert 
hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  officials  at 
Pensacola  against  the  Americans,  growing  out 
of  the  dispute  as  to  the  limits  of  West  Florida; 
and  now  intensified  by  the  capture  of  Mobile 
on  April  13,  1813,  by  an  expedition  from  New 
Orleans,  under  the  command  of  General  Wilkin- 
son. Spain  herself  was  too  much  absorbed  by 
her  struggle  for  existence  to  take  any  active 
interest  in  a  question  of  boundar^^  in  the  new 
world.  But  the  British,  who  were  her  allies  in 
her  war  with  the  French,  availed  themselves  of 
that  official  hostility  to  induce  the  Spaniards  at 
Pensacola  to  permit  them  to  make  that  place  a 
base  from  which  the  Indians  could  be  furnished 
with  supplies  to  wage  war  on  the  United 
States. 

After  the  capture  of  Detroit,  in  August,  1812, 
the  British  formed  the  scheme  of  combining  the 
Indians  on  the  western  frontier  of  the  United 
States  in  a  line  of  warfare  extending  from  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  219 

Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  As  their  chief  era- 
issary  to  accomplish  that  end,  they  employed 
Tecumseh,  the  great  Shawnee  Chief,  who  in  the 
fall  of  that  3^ear  made  his  appearance  amongst 
the  Seminoles  and  Creeks.  He  at  once  began 
the  work  of  exciting  their  hostility  against  the 
Americans,  by  every  argument,  art,  and  device 
which  his  own  savage  shrewdness  could  sug- 
gest, or  the  deliberate  calculations  of  his  British 
allies  prompt.  He  addressed  the  Creek  assem- 
blies with  the  burning  words  of  an  impassioned 
oratory,  to  which  his  stately  form  and  command- 
ing presence  gave  additional  force.  He  upbraided 
their  disposition  to  adopt  the  speech,  the  dress, 
and  habits  of  the  white  man,  instead  of  cleav- 
ing to  those  of  their  forefathers.  He  persuaded 
them  that  it  was  degrading  to  an  Indian  war- 
rior to  follow  the  plow,  or  to  rely  upon  cattle 
and  the  fruits  of  the  field  for  sustenance ;  that  it 
was  decreed  by  the  Great  Spirit  that  the  coun- 
try should  go  back  to  the  forest,  and  that  the 
Indian  should  depend  upon  the  chase  for  his 
food,  as  his  forefathers  had  done.  An  invidious 
contrast  was  drawn  between  the  disinterested 
friendship  of  the  British,  who  had  no  occasion 


220  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

or  use  for  their  lands,  and  the  cupidity  of  the 
Americans  who  were  annually  restricting  their 
hunting  grounds  by  their  ever  extending  settle- 
ments. Superstition,  and  necromancy,  too,  were 
successfulh^  emplo^^ed  to  enforce  his  teachings. 
Some  of  the  wavering,  like  Francis,  afterwards 
known  as  the  prophet,  were  induced  to  submit 
to  days  of  seclusion  and  fasting,  in  houses  from 
which  the  light  was  excluded,  until  darkness, 
spells,  and  incantations,  acting  upon  bodies 
enfeebled  by  hunger,  inspired  faith  in  the  mis- 
sion of  the  great  Shawnee.  A  comet,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  last  days  of  September  of  that 
3^ear,  was  pointed  to  as  a  sign  placed  in  the 
heavens  by  the  Great  Spirit,  as  a  presage  of 
wrath  and  destruction  to  the  white  man,  and  a 
promise  of  redemption  to  the  Indian. 

He  had  the  temerity,  even,  to  foretell  a  great 
natural  phenomenon  of  which  he  was  to  be  the 
proximate  cause,  as  an  evidence  his  mission 
was  inspired.  ''When  I  reach  Detroit  I  shall 
stamp  my  foot,  and  the  earth  will  tremble  and 
rock."  And  strange  to  relate,  at  about  the 
lapse  of  time  the  journey  would  consume,  an 
earthquake  was    felt    throughout    the    Creek 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  221 

country,  when  from  all  sides  came  the  cry  of 
the  awe-stricken  Indians :  "Tecumseh  has  reach- 
ed Detroit  and  stamped  his  foot.  "* 

His  mission  divided  the  Creeks  into  two  par- 
ties, of  w^hich  by  far  the  most  numerous  and 
warlike,  was  that  which  yielded  to  his  seduc- 
tions. To  each  of  his  converts  he  gave  a  red 
stick  as  an  emblem  of  war,  and  hence  the  hostile 
Creeks  became  known  as  ''Red  Sticks. " 

He  had  hardly  returned  to  Detroit,  when 
there  came  to  Pensacola  British  agents,  bring- 
ing with  them  military  supplies  for  distribution 
amongst  the  Red  Sticks,  to  whose  bloody  in- 
stincts was  applied  the  stimulus  of  a  bounty 
of  five  dollars  for  every  American  scalp. 

That  Pensacola  should  be  the  Creek  base  of 
supply,  was  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of 
warfare  designed  b}^  the  British  at  Detroit,  and 
a  fulfillment  of  Tecumseh's  promised  assistance 
to  their  savage  allies.  After  the  arrival  there  of 
the  British  agents  and  their  stores,  the  Red 
Sticks  lost  no  time  in  procuring  from  them  the 
needed  supplies  for  the  war  to  which  they  had 


Pickett's  History  of  Alabama,  Vol.  II.,  p.  246. 


222  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

pledged  themselves.  From  all  parts  of  the 
Creek  country  the  hostiles  were  seen  hurrying 
to  Pensacola,  and  returning  with  arms  and  am- 
munition, without  hindrance  from  the  Spanish 
officials. 

The  first  startling  result  of  the  alliance 
between  the  British  and  Indians,  was  the  mas- 
sacre of  Fort  Mims,  which  occurred  in  August, 
1813,  an  event  that  sent  a  thrill  of  horror 
through  ever}^  American  heart. 

The  fort  was  situated  on  Lake  Tensas,  a  mile 
east  of  the  Alabama  river.  It  consisted  of  a 
stockade  enclosing  about  an  acre,  with  a  block- 
house in  one  of  its  angles.  In  the  center  of  it 
stood  the  residence  of  Samuel  Mims,  for  whom 
it  was  named.  It  had  been  hastily  constructed, 
as  a  refuge  for  the  people  of  the  neighborhood, 
in  anticipation  of  an  extended  war,  rendered 
imminent  by  encounters  that  had  taken  place 
between  small  parties  of  Indians  and  whites. 
In  July,  there  entered  the  stockade  five  hundred 
and  fifty-three  souls,  composed  of  soldiers,  other 
men,  women  and  children.  Owing  to  the  ill 
chosen  site,  situated  as  it  was  in  a  hammock, 
and   the  negligence  of  those  in  command,  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  223 

place  was  surprised  at  midday  on  August  30, 
by  one  thousand  Creek  Indians  under  William 
Weatherford  and  Francis,  who  rushed  in  at 
the  open  gate,  which  had  been  heedlessly  left  un- 
closed. But  few  of  those  in  the  Fort  escaped. 
All  the  dead  were  scalped,  except  those  who 
were  saved  from  that  outrage,  by  undergoing 
the  process  of  cremation  in  the  buildings  in 
which  they  had  taken  refuge,  and  which  were 
fired  by  the  enemy  to  overcome  their  defenders. 
Their  bloody  work  finished,  the  Indians  rested 
and  feasted,  at  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  smok- 
ing their  pipes,  and  trimming  and  drying  the 
scalps  they  had  taken.  Afterwards,  these  hor- 
rid trophies  of  victory,  strung  on  sticks,  were 
taken  to  the  British  agents  at  Pensacola,  who 
paid  for  them  the  promised  bounty. 

It  is  due  to  WiUiam  Weatherford,  who  was  a 
son  of  a  half-sister  of  Alexander  McGillivray, 
that,  it  should  be  mentioned,  at  the  peril  of 
his  own  life,  he  interfered  to  save  the  women 
and  children.  Failing  in  his  merciful  efforts,  he 
refused  to  witness  their  massacre,  and  left  the 
bloody  scene. 

Not  content  with  making  Pensacola  a  base 


224  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

for  inciting  the  Indians  to  hostitilies  against 
the  United  States,  in  1814,  there  came  into  the 
harbor  a  British  fleet,  with  a  body  of  marines, 
the  former  under  the  command  of  Captain 
William  Henry  Percy,  and  the  later  under  that 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Edward  Nicholls,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  possession  of  its  fortifications. 
This  the  imbecile  Maurique  permitted  them  to 
do.  Fort  George,  which  had  been  named  St. 
Michael  by  the  Spaniards,  resumed  its  English 
name,  and  received  a  British  garrison,  w^hilst 
the  flag  of  St.  George  once  again  floated  from 
its  ramparts.  Fort  San  Carlos  and  the  battery 
on  Santa  Rosa  Island  were  also  turned  over  to 
the  British.  And  at  the  same  time,  the 
Governor's  house  was  made  the  headquarters 
of  Percy  and  Nicholls. 

The  fleet  consisted  of  two  ships,  each  of 
twenty-four  guns,  and  two  brigs,  each  of 
eighteen  guns,  with  three  tenders.  The  marines 
numbered  two  to  three  hundred  men. 

Nicholls  at  once  began  to  increase  his  force  by 
enlisting  Indians,  whom  he  supplied  with 
British  uniforms,  and  drilled  in  the  streets  of 
Pensacola. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  225 

Thus  reads  his  order  of  the  day,  twenty-sixth 
of  August  1814.  ''The  noble  Spanish  nation 
has  grieved  to  see  her  territories  insulted, 
having  been  robbed  and  despoiled  of  a  portion 
of  them  w^hile  she  was  overwhelmed  with 
distress,  and  held  down  by  the  chains  which  a 
tyrant  had  imposed  on  her  gloriously  struggling 
for  the  greatest  of  all  blessings  (true  liberty). 
The  treacherous  Americans,  who  call  themselves 
free,  have  attacked  her  like  assassins  while  she 
was  fallen.  But  the  day  of  retribution  is  fast 
approaching.  .  .  As  to  the  Indians,  you  are 
to  exhibit  to  them  the  most  exact  discipline, 
being  patterns  to  these  children  of  nature.  You 
will  teach  and  instruct  them,  in  doing  which 
you  will  manifest  the  utmost  patience,  and  you 
will  correct  them  when  they  deserve  it." 

Percy  in  a  communication  to  Lafitte,  the 
commander  of  the  Banataria  pirates,  sa^^s :  "As 
France  and  England  are  now^  friends,  I  call  on 
you  with  your  brave  followers  to  enter  into  the 
service  of  Great  Britain,  in  which  you  shall  have 
the  rank  of  Captain." 

Nicholls  likewise  issued  a  proclamation  to  the 
people    of  Louisiana  and    Kentucky,   inviting 


226  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

them  to  join  the  British.  To  the  latter  he 
addressed  himself  specially  as  follows:  "Inhabi- 
tants of  Kentucky,  you  have  too  long  borne 
with  grievous  impositions.  The  whole  brunt  of 
the  war  has  fallen  on  your  brave  sons.  Be 
imposed  upon  no  more.  Either  range  yourselves 
under  the  standard  of  your  forefathers,  or 
observe  a  strict  neutrality."  ^ 

And  as  an  additional  stimulus  to  the  activity 
and  zeal  of  the  Indians,  the  bounty  on  American 
scalps  was  raised  from  five  to  ten  dollars,  f 


*  Niks'  Weekl.v  Register,  Vol.  VII.,  pp.  134-135. 
t  Pickett's  History  of  Alabama,  Vol.  II.,  p.  357. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  227 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Attack  on  Fort  Boyer  by  Percy  and  Nicholls— Jackson's 
March  on  Pensacola  in  1814— The  Town  Captured— 
Percy  and  Nicholls  Driven  Out — Consequences  of  the 
War  to  the  Creeks — Don  Manuel  Gonzalez. 

The  first  aggressive  operation  of  Percy  and 
Nicholls  against  the  Americans  after  they  had 
established  themselves  at  Pensacola  was  an 
attack  on  Fort  Boyer  on  Mobile  Point,  pre- 
paratory to  an  ad  vance  on  Mobile.  But  General 
Jackson's  great  victory  of  the  Horse  Shoe  over 
the  Creeks  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  March 
had  eifectually  crushed  them,  and  the  treaty 
with  them  which  followed  enabled  him  to  direct 
his  attention  exclusively  to  the  movements  of 
the  British  at  Pensacola. 

His  first  step  was  to  put  Fort  Boyer  in  con- 
dition to  resist  an  attack,  by  repairing  it, 
mounting  additional  guns  and  placing  an  ample 
garrison  in  it.  This  preparation  had  hardly 
been  accomplished,  when,  early  in  September, 


228  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

1814-,  tlie  British  commanders  made  a  com- 
bined attack  upon  it  b}^  land  and  water.  The 
former  was  repulsed,  and  the  latter  resulted  in 
the  destruction  of  the  Hermes, Percy's  flag  ship, 
and  the  drawing  off  of  the  other  vessels  in  a 
crippled  condition.  After  the  inglorious  ex- 
pedition, the  British  fleet  and  land  forces 
retired  to  Pensacola— a  result  hardly  in  keep- 
ing with  the  vaunts  of  Percy  and  Nicholls 
in  their  several  proclamations  issued  in  August. 
Pensacola  having  lost  all  claim  to  neutrality, 
as  well  b^ being  under  the  British  flag,  as  by 
becoming  a  refuge  for  the  hostile  Indians  who 
declined  to  bring  themselves  within  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  which  General  Jackson  had  made 
with  the  Creeks  after  the  victory  at  the  Horse 
Shoe,  he  resolved  to  advance  upon  it.  He  had 
previously  written  Maurique  a  letter  reminding 
him  of  the  peaceful  relations  between  Spain  and 
the  United  States,  expostulating  with  him  upon 
his  permitting  the  British  to  make  Pensacola 
the  base  of  their  operations,  and  allowing  it  to 
be  an  asylum  for  the  hostile  Creeks,  naming 
two  of  them  especially,  McQueen  and  Francis, 
whose  strange  adventures  will  be  mentioned  in 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  229 

a  future  page.  To  this  mild  expostulation  the 
governor  made  an  ambiguous  and  insulting 
repl}',  ending  with  the  threat  ''that  Jackson 
should  hear  from  him  shortly."*  The  corre- 
spondence occurred  just  before  the  Percy  and 
Nicholls'  attack  on  Fort  Boyer,  and  doubtless 
it  was  their  bombastic  prediction  of  success 
which  prompted  old  Maurique  to  send  Jackson 
so  defiant  reply. 

General  Jackson,  however,  did  not  wait 
longer  than  the  last  days  of  October,  1814,  for 
the  execution  of  the  Spanish  governor's  threat. 
Having  collected  his  forces  at  Fort  Mont- 
gomer3^,  on  the  twenty-seventh  he  took  up  his 
line  of  march  for  Pensacola,  the  Indian  trail  re- 
ferred to  in  an  early  chapter  being  its  guiding 
thread.  The  troops  consisted  of  the  Third, 
Thirty- nineth  and  Forty -fourth  infantry, 
Coffee's  brigade,  a  company  of  Mississippi 
dragoons  and  part  of  a  West  Tennessee  regi- 
ment, numbering  three  thousand  effective  men, 
besides  a  band  of  friendly  Choctaws. 

He  reached  the  vicinitv  of  the  town  on  the 


Niks'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  VIL,  p.  11. 


230  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

evening  of  the  sixth  of  November.  He  first  ap- 
peared on  its  western  side,  and  there,  having 
halted,  he  says,  in  the  dispatch  containing  an 
account  of  the  expedition,  *'0n  my  approach  I 
sent  Major  Pierre  with  a  flag  to  communicate 
the  object  of  my  visit.  He  approached  the  Fort 
St.  George  with  his  flag  displayed,  and  was 
fired  on  by  the  cannon  from  the  fort."*  Im- 
mediately afterwards,  with  the  adjutant  and  a 
small  party,  he  himself  made  a  reconnoissance. 
He  found  the  fort  manned  by  Spanish  as  well  as 
English  troops.  He  likewise  observed  that 
there  were  in  the  harbor  seven  English  war 
vessels,  which  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  con- 
sider in  his  future  movements.  His  plans  were 
at  once  formed.  A  force  under  Captain  Denkins, 
with  several  pieces  of  artillery,  occupied  the  site 
of  Fort  St.  Barnardo,  which  was  once  again  to 
be  pitted  against  its  old  antagonist,  Fort 
George. t  Inferring  that  the  enemy  v^ould  ex- 
pect his  attack  from  the  west,  General  Jackson, 
on  the  night  of  the  sixth,  caused  the  main  body 
of  his  army  to  make  a  circuitous  march,  so  that 


*  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  281. 
t  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  281. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  231 

the  morning  would  find  it  on  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  the  town.*  This  movement  shielded 
him  from  the  guns  of  St.  George  or  St.  Michael, 
whilst  by  entering  the  town  at  the  eastern  end 
of  Government  street  he  would,  in  a  measure, 
be  protected  from  the  guns  of  the  English  ves- 
sels. But  he  encountered  a  battery  of  two  guns 
as  he  entered  the  street,  which  fired  upon  the 
centre  column  with  ball  and  grape,  whilst  there 
opened  upon  the  troops  a  shower  of  musketry 
from  houses,  fences  and  gardens.!  The  battery 
was  soon  silenced,  however,  b}^  a  storming 
party  led  by  Captain  Laval,  who  lost  a  leg  at 
the  last  fire  of  the  guns.  All  the  Spanish  forces 
at  the  battery  fled  as  Laval's  command  rushed 
upon  it  except  a  gallant  Spanish  oflBcer,  who, 
refusing  to  fly,  was  taken  prisoner.  But  tra- 
dition says,  instead  of  laurels,  he  won  from  his 
own  people  the  imputation  of  "fool"  for  his 
rashness — a  rashness,  however,  which,  had  it 
been  crowned  with  success,  would  probably 
have  secured  him  the  praise  of  a  hero. 


♦  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  281. 
t  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  281. 


232  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

When  the  command  had  well  advanced  into 
the  town  it  was  met  by  the  governor  in  person, 
with  a  white  flag,  and  an  offer  of  surrender  at 
discretion.  The  offer  was  accepted,  but  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  General  Jackson  to 
accomplish  the  declared  object  of  the  expedition 
— which  was  not  conquest— but  to  expel  the 
British,  whose  presence  was  due  to  the  im- 
becility of  Maurique,  as  well  as  the  small 
Spanish  force  at  his  command,  consisting,  as  it 
did,  of  two  or  three  companies  of  the  regiment 
of  Tarragona.  In  order  to  attain  that  object, 
possession  of  Forts  Barrancas  and  St.  Michael 
by  the  Americans  was  indispensable,  and,  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability,  the  governor  made  the 
surrender.  But  when  Captain  Denkins  and  his 
command  were  about  to  proceed  to  take  pos- 
session of  St.  Michael,  Captain  Soto,  the 
Spanish  officer  in  command,  refused  to  obey  the 
governor's  instructions  to  make  the  surrender. 
Preparations  that  were  immediately  made  to 
take  it  by  storm,  however,  induced  Soto  to  re- 
consider his  refusal  and  to  admit  the  American 
command.  The  demand  was  made  at  six  o'clock 
on  the  evening  of  the  seventh,  and  the  surrender 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  233 

occurred  at  midnight.  The  purpose  of  Soto's 
delay  cannot  be  divined,  for  Nicholls  having  on 
the  night  of  the  sixth  withdrawn  his  men  to 
the  shipping,  there  remained  in  the  fort  but  a 
small  band  of  Spaniards. 

As  General  Jackson  withdrew  his  forces  from 
the  town,  which  he  did  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  of  its  capture,  they  were  fired  upon 
by  the  British  vessels,  but  without  inflicting 
any  injury. 

Whilst,  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  a 
detachment  was  preparing  to  march  on  Bar- 
rancas, with  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  the 
retreat  of  the  British  fleet,  there  was  heard  a 
great  explosion,  which  it  was  at  once  concluded 
was  occasioned  by  the  blowing  up  of  San  Car- 
los. General  Jackson  nevertheless  sent  the 
detachment  there  to  verify  the  fact.  On  its 
return  in  the  night  it  reported  the  fort  blown 
up,  everything  combustible  burned,  and  cannon 
spiked  by  the  British,  who  had  taken  to  their 
ships,  and  sailed  out  of  the  harbor. 

The  onh'  casualties  which  occurred  doing  these 
operations  on  the  part  of  the  Americans  were 
seven   killed    and   eleven   wounded,    including 


234-  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Captain  Laval ;  and  on  the  part  of  the  Span- 
iards four  killed  and  six  wounded. 

Captain  William  Laval  was  a  South  Carolin- 
ian, the  son  of  a  French  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Lauzun,  belonging  to  the  French  forces  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  In  1808  he  received  the 
commission  of  ensign  in  the  American  army.  In 
1812,  he  became  a  first  lieutenant.  The  break- 
ing out  of  the  Creek  war  found  him  a  captain. 
He  was  with  the  third  regiment,  to  which  his 
company  belonged,  at  the  battle  of  Holy  Ground. 
For  the  service  of  charging  the  Spanish  battery 
at  Pensacola  he  was  specially  selected  by 
General  Jackson.  The  loss  of  his  leg  prevented 
his  sharing  with  his  regiment  in  the  glorious 
victory  of  N^w  Orleans,  and  ended  his  military 
career  as  well.  His  aptitude  for  civil  as  well  as 
military  life  was  manifested  by  his  filling  the 
offices  of  Secretary  of  State,  Comptroller  Gen- 
eral, and  Treasurer  of  South  Carolina,  as  well  as 
Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  under 
Polk's  administration. 

That  the  presence  of  the  British  was  enforced, 
and  by  no  means  agreeable  to  the  Spaniards, 
was  promptly  manifested  by  the  good  feeling 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  235 

exhibited  by  the  latter  towards  the  Americans, 
as  soon  as  Percy  and  Nicholls  had  taken  their 
departure.      The  inhabitants  were   much    im- 
pressed by  the  kind  and  generous  conduct  of 
General  Jackson;  who  seems    fully,    to    have 
appreciated  the  peculiar  position  in  which  the 
town  was  placed,  by  the  pretentious  audacity 
of  Percy  and    Nicholls,    the    feebleness    of  its 
garrison,  and  above  all  the  imbecility  of  Mau- 
rique.  In  the  dispatch  before  referred  to  he  says: 
"The  good  order  and  conduct  of  my  troops, 
whilst  in  Pensacola,  have  convinced  the  Span- 
iards of  our  friendship  and  our  prowess ;   and 
have  drawn  from  the  citizens  an  expression, 
that  'The  Choctaws  are  more  civilized  than  the 
British.'  '*    In  letters  written  from  Pensacola  to 
Havana,  in  relation  to  the  capture  of  the  plac%, 
the  comparison  is  thus  expressed:  "the  Ameri- 
can Choctaws  were  more  civilized   than    the 
religious  English."    These  letters  teem  with  the 
praises  of  the  considerate  conduct  of  General 
Jackson  and  his  army. 

When  the  first  account  of  the  invasion 
reached  Havana,  American  vessels  were  seized 
as  a  retaliatory    measure;  but  when  all  the 


236  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

particulars  of  the  expedition  were  learned  they 
were  promptly  released. 

Having  blown  up  St.  Michael,  General 
Jackson  left  Pensacola,  on  November  9,  to  go 
to  the  defence  of  New  Orleans,  which  from  all 
indications  was  threatened  with  an  attack  by 
the  British.  There  he  arrived  with  his  army, 
on  December  2,  to  begin  those  preparations 
which  were  to  end  on  January  8,  in  the  grand 
and  glorious  land  victory  of  the  War  of  1812. 

When  Percy  and  NichoUs  left  Pensacola,  they 
took  with  them,  not  only  their  Indian  allies, 
but  also  about  one  hundred  negro  slaves  be- 
longing to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Sailing 
to  Appalachicola,  they  there  landed  the  Indians 
and  negroes.  Still  bent  on  instigating  a  savage 
w^arfare  against  the  American  settlements,  a 
fort  under  their  directions  was  built  on  the  Ap- 
palachicola river,  which  they  supplied  with  guns 
and  ammunition.  It  was  designed  to  serve  as  a 
refuge  for  fugitive  slaves,  and  a  resort  for  hos- 
tile Indians,  as  well  as  a  salient  point  from 
which  to  carry  on  an  exterminating  w^arfare 
against  the  white  settlements  in  southern  Geor- 
gia and  Alabama. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  237 

Such  were  the  inglorious  results  of  the  Percy- 
Nicholls  expedition  to  Florida,  beginning,  as  we 
have  seen,  with  stilted  proclamations  to  the 
people  of  Louisiana  and  Kentucky,  coupled 
with  an  invitation  to  a  nest  of  pirates  to 
become  their  allies;  and  ending  with  the  rob- 
bing and  destruction  of  the  property  of  a  com- 
munity to  which  they  had  come  under  the  guise 
of  friendship,  and  as  its  shield  from  wrongs 
which  existed  in  their  own  imaginations  only. 

Aside  from  the  barbarity  which  marked  the 
warfare  instigated  by  Britain  against  the 
Americans  in  Florida  and  Alabama  during  the 
years  1812-1814,  history  has  cause  to  lament 
its  fatal  consequences  to  the  people  who  were 
the  cruel  instruments  by  which  it  was  waged. 

At  the  time  of  Tecumseh's  mission  to  the 
Creeks,  about  twenty  years  had  elapsed  since 
the  death  of  their  Great  Chief,  McGillivray.  In 
that  interval,  under  the  impulse  of  his  teachings 
and  example,  continued  and  increased  by  the 
fostering  care  of  the  United  States,  they  had 
made  considerable  advance  in  civilization. 
Large  numbers  of  them  had  learned  to  rely 
more  upon  tillage  and  their  herds  for  a  livelihood, 


238  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  FO 

than  on  the  chase.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing 
to  see  in  the  nation,  well-built  houses  standing 
in  the  midst  of  considerable  farms.  They  owned 
slaves  and  lar^e  herds  of  cattle.  The  hum  of 
the  spinning  wheel,  and  the  noise  of  the  shuttle, 
moved  b}^  the  deft  hands  of  Indian  matrons, 
were  common  sounds  throughout  the  Creek 
country;  whilst  an  Indian  maiden  with  her 
milk  pail,  or  at  her  churn,  Avas  no  unusual  sight. 
The  schools  established  amongst  them  were 
gradually  shedding  upon  them  the  light  and 
mellowing  influence  of  knowledge.  * 

The  large  infusion  of  white  blood  into  the 
tribe,  owing  to  the  attractions  of  the  Creek 
women,  which  have  already  been  noticed,  like- 
wise, added  the  hope  of  a  civilization  resting 
upon  the  strongest  instincts  of  human  nature. 
Of  the  possibility  of  this  civilizing  and  ennob- 
ling influence,  gradually  permeating  and  elevat- 
ing the  Creeks  as  a  people,  we  have  the  evidence 
in  some  of  their  descendants,  who  at  this  day, 
are  amongst  the  most  respectable  citizens  in 
several  communities  in  Alabama  and  Florida. 


Niks'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  6,  p.  370. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  239 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Creek  nation,  when 
the  British  at  Detroit  sent  Tecumseh,  like 
another  Prince  of  Evil,  into  that  fair  garden  of 
a  nascent  civilization,  to  convert  its  peaceful 
scenes  into  fields  of  slaughter,  with  all  the  woes 
that  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  war. 

The  first  fruit  of  that  cruel  scheme,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  the  tragedy  of  Fort  Mims. 
Then  follow^ed  in  rapid  succession  the  avenging 
battles  of  Tallasehatchee,  Talladega,  Auttose, 
and  Holy  Ground.  To  those  succeeded  the  last 
great  heroic  struggle  at  the  Horse  Shoe,  in 
which,  of  one  thousand  Red  Sticks  engaged, 
two  hundred  only  survived.  Afterwards  came 
the  surrender  of  Weatherford  with  that  speech  * 


*  Weatherford  having  boldh'  ridden  up  to  General  Jack- 
son's tent,  was  met  by  the  threatening  question:  "How- 
dare  3'ou,  sir,  ride  up  to  mv  tent  after  having  murdered  the 
women  and  children  at  Fort  Mims?"  Weatherford  replied: 
"  General  Jackson,  I  am  not  afraid  of  you.  I  fear  no  man, 
for  I  am  a  Creek  warrior.  I  have  nothing  to  request  in 
behalf  of  myself;  you  can  kill  me  if  you  wish.  I  come  to  beg 
3'Ou  to  send  for  the  women  and  children  of  the  war  party 
who  are  now  starving  in  the  woods.  Their  fields  and  cribs 
have  been  destroyed  b3-  your  people,  who  have  driven  them 
to  the  woods  without  one  ear  of  corn.   I  hope  you  will  send 


240  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

which  conies  to  us  as  the  dirge-like  epilogue  of 
the  woeful  drama;  and  a  memorial  of  that  pro- 
phetic shadow  which  fell  on  his  people  when 
they  learned  their  Grand  Chief  was  lying  in  the 
"sands  of  the  Seminoles.  " 

The  Spaniards  criticised  General  Jackson's 
Florida  campaign,  because  he  did  not,  instead 
of  advancing  on  Pensacola,  proceed  at  once 
to  Barrancas,  to  capture  San  Carlos,  and  there- 
by prevent  the  escape  of  the  British  vessels. 
But  the  answer  to  the  criticism  is,  that  he  was 
not  aware,  perhaps,  of  all  the  conditions  known 
to  the  Spaniards,  which  in  their  judgment, 
would  have  facilitated  a  surprise,  or  contributed 
to  a  successful  assault.  Besides,  such  a  move- 
ment would  have  been  inconsistent  with  the 
purpose  of  his  invasion,  w^hich  was  to  procure 
the  exclusion  of  the  British  from  Florida,  by  the 


out  parties  to  safely  bring  them  here  in  order  that  they 
may  be  fed.  I  exerted  myself  in  vain  to  prevent  the  massa- 
cre of  the  women  and  children  at  Fort  Mims.  I  am  now  done 
fighting.  The  Red  Sticks  are  nearly  all  killed.  If  I  could 
fight  you  any  longer  I  would  most  heartily  do  so.  Send 
for  the  women  and  children ;  they  never  did  you  any  harm. 
But  kill  me  if  the  white  people  want  it  done.  " — Pickett's 
History  of  Alabama,  Vol.  II.,  p.  349. 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  241 

action  of  the  Spaniards  themselves ;  a  consider- 
ation which  was  due  to  the  amicable  relations 
existing  between  Spain  and  the  United  States. 
Entertaining  these  views,  General  Jackson  did 
not  deem  it  proper  to  seize  the  Spanish  forts  in 
the  first  instance  without  communicating  with 
the  Governor.  This  he  attempted  to  do,  and  it 
was  only  after  the  outrage  of  firing  on  his  flag, 
he  resolved,  without  further  parle\'  or  remon- 
strance, by  his  own  arms  to  drive  out  the 
British. 

That,  however,  he  had  considered  a  move- 
ment on  Barrancas,  before  or  at  the  time  of  his 
advance  on  Pensacola,  is  evidenced  by  an  inter- 
view which  he  had  with  Don  Manuel  Gon- 
zalez, who  was  an  officer  in  the  Spanish  commis- 
sary department,  and  who  had  a  cattle  ranch 
at  a  place  then  known  as  Vacaria  Baja,  now  as 
Oakfield,  one  mile  from  the  trail  the  American 
army  was  following.  Don  Manuel,  with  his 
family,  was  at  the  ranch,  when  the  General  rode 
up  to  the  house,  and  accosted  him.  There  was 
with  the  Don  at  the  time,  his  son,  Celestino, 
then  a  young  man.  Through  an  interpreter, 
the  General  made  known,  that  the  purpose  of 


242  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

his  visit  was  to  require  the  Don,  or  his  son,  to 
guide  the  army  to  Barrancas.  The  Don  boldly 
refusing,  the  General  became  insistent,  to  the 
degree  of  threatening  the  use  of  force  to  secure 
compliance.  Roused  by  the  threat,  wnth  a  mien 
as  dauntless  as  Jackson's,  Don  Manuel  replied : 
"General,  my  life  and  my  property  are  in  your 
power ;  j^ou  can  take  both  ;  but  my  honor  is  in 
ni}^  own  keeping.  As  to  m}^  son,  I  w^ould  rather 
plunge  a  sword  into  his  bosom  than  see  him  a 
traitor  to  his  king."  The  General  replied  b}^ 
extending  his  hand  with  the  exclamation,  *'I 
honor  a  brave  man,"  and  thenceforth  became 
his  friend. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  243 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Seminole  War,  ISlS^ackson  Invades  East  Florida — 
Defeats  the  Seminoles — Captures  St.  Marks — Arbuthnot 
and  Ambrister — Prophet  Francis — His  Daughter. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  the  British  troops 
were  withdrawn  from  the  fort  onthe  Appalach- 
icola  river  built  under  the  auspices  of  Nicholls 
and  Percy. 

The  Seminoles  were,  as  their  name  signifies, 
outlaws  and  runaways  from  the  Creek  confed- 
eracy^, or  their  descendants.  Hence  it  was,  that 
those  of  the  Red  Sticks  who  refused  to  submit 
to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Creeks,  either  fled  to  the  British 
at  Pensacola,  or  to  the  Seminole  nation.  It  was 
in  a  district  inhabited  by  Seminoles,  that  the 
fort  built  by  Nicholls  on  the  Appalachicola  river 
was  situated.  The  spirit  and  objects  which 
prompted  its  construction  continued  to  animate 
its  motley  garrison  long  after  Nicholls'   depar- 


24'4?  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ture.  At  length  it  proved  such  an  interruption 
to  navigation,  besides  being  an  asylum  for 
runaway  negroes,  as  to  bring  against  it,  in 
1816,  an  expedition  by  land  and  water  under 
Colonel  Duncan  L.  Clinch.  A  shot  from  a  gun- 
boat exploded  the  magazines  and  destroyed  the 
larger  part  of  the  garrison.  The  destruction  of 
this  nest  of  rapine,  however,  did  not  for  long 
give  peace  and  security  to  the  district. 

In  the  fall  of  1817,  a  feeling  of  unrest  and  suspi- 
cion mutually  seized  upon  the  white  settlers  and 
Indians,  induced  by  causes  for  which  both  were 
responsible.      The  first  act  of  war,  however,  was 
the  capture  on  November21ofFowlton,  a  Semi- 
nole village  above  the  Georgia  line,  by  an  Ameri- 
can force,  under  Colonel  Twiggs .  This  proved  the 
signal  for  Indian  massacres,  the  most  shocking 
of  which  was  that  of  Lieutenant  Scott  and  his 
<:ommand.    Whilst  going  up  the  Appalachicola 
river  in  a  barge  they  were  attacked  from  a 
dense  swamp  on  the  bank.    There  were  in  the 
barge  forty  men  besides  Scott,  seven  soldiers' 
-wives,  and  five  children.    All  were  killed  except 
one  w^oman  spared  by  the  Indians,   and  four 
men  who  swam  to  the  opposite  bank. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  24-5 

In  March  1818,  General  Jackson  was  ordered 
to  the  seat  of  war.  He  invaded  East  Florida, 
and  in  a  campaign  of  six  weeks  crushed  the 
Indians.  In  one  of  their  towns,  were  found 
three  hundred  scalps  of  men,  women  and 
children,  fifty  still  fresh  hanging  from  a  red  war 
pole.  He  also  captured  the  Spanish  Post  of 
Saint  Marks. 

For  the  last  act,  investigation  can  find  no 
adequate  reason.  It  was  not,  however,  an 
irremediable  wrong,  for  restitution  furnished 
a  remedy.  Two  irreparable  wrongs,  however, 
marked  that  short  campaign. 

Alexander  Arbuthnot,  being  found  at  St. 
Marks,  was  brought  before  a  court-martial. 
He  was  a  man  of  seventy  years  of  age,  a  Scotch- 
man, an  Indian  trader,  and  a  friend  of  the 
Indians,  but  a  counsellor  of  peace  between  them 
and  the  whites ;  a  man  of  education,  who  used 
his  pen  to  represent  Indian  wrongs  to  both 
Spanish  and  American  officials;  and  who,  when 
Jackson  was  about  to  invade  their  country', 
advised  the  Seminoles  to  fly  and  not  to  fight. 
On  his  trial,  the  plainest  rules  of  evidence  were 
disregarded,  and  without  proof  he  was  found 


246  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

guilty  of  the  charges  of  inciting  the  Creeks  to 
war  on  the  United  States  and,  hkewise,  of 
*' aiding  and  abetting  the  enemy,  and  supplying 
them  with  the  means  of  war.*'  Under  that 
baseless  judgment  the  old  man  was  hanged  ; 
his  Avaving  white  locks  protesting  his  inno- 
cence. '" 

Robert  C.  Ambrister,  who  had  formerly  be- 
longed to  Nicholls'  command,  being  found  in 
the  Indian  nation,  was  also  seized  and  tried  by 
a  court-martial.  He  confessed  that  he  had  coun- 
selled and  aided  the  Indians.  The  court  at  first 
sentenced  him  to  be  shot,  but  before  closing  the 
trial,  upon  a  reconsideration  it  set  aside  that 
judgment,  and  substituted  for  death  the 
punishment  of  fifty  stripes,  and  confinement 
"with  a  ball  and  chain  at  hard  labor  for 
twelvemonths."  Nevertheless,  General  Jackson 
disregarding  the  last,  executed  the  first  judg- 
ment.! 

Jackson  having  early  in  May  closed  his 
campaign  against  the  East  Florida  Seminoles, 
and  obtained  evidence  satisfactory  to  himself, 


*Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  15,  pp.  270—282. 
tNiles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  15,  p.  281. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  247 

that  the  Spanish  officials  at  Pensacola  were  in 
sympathy  with  them,  resolved  to  march  upon 
that  town,  and  repeat  the  lesson  which  he  had 
taught  it  in  1814.  Before  following  him  in 
that  expedition,  however,  mention  will  be  made 
of  the  adventures,  fate  and  daughter  of  Francis, 
the  Indian  prophet,  \vho  left  Pensacola,  it  will 
be  remembered,  with  Nicholls  on  the  approach 
of  the  Americans  in  1814. 

Francis    had  been  one  of  Tecumseh's   most 
notable  and  zealous  disciples,  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  sedulous  in  making  Red  Stick  converts. 
A  leader  in  the  massacre  of  Fort  Mims,  he  had 
revelled    in    deeds    of   blood    in    that    human 
slaughter  pen.    When  Nicholls  left  Florida  with 
his    troops,    Francis    accompanied    him,    and 
finally  made  his  way  to  London.    There  in   a 
gorgeous  dress  he  was  presented  to  the  Prince 
Regent,  who  in  recognition  of  his  military  serv- 
ices to  the  crown,  bestowed  upon  him  a  gilded 
tomahawk,  with  a  dazzling  belt,  a  gold  snuff- 
box, and  a  commission  of  brigadier-general   in 
the  British  service.     Well  would  it  have  been 
for  the  prophet  had  he  remained  in  aland  where 
his  deeds  were  so  highly  appreciated.    But  the 


248  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

instinct  of  the  savage  brought  him  back  to 
Florida,  where  he  was  captured  by  the  decoy  of 
an  American  vessel  lying  in  the  St.  Marks  river, 
fl^^ing  a  British  flag.  He  went  ofl"  to  her  in  a 
canoe,  to  meet  allies,  but  found  enemies,  Avho 
seized  and  delivered  him  to  Jackson.  He  was 
summarily  hanged,  with  his  brigadier's  commis- 
sion on  his  person. 

It  is  a  pleasing  change  to  turn  from  deeds  of 
blood  to  instances  of  humanity,  especially  when 
they  come  to  us  in  the  form  of  attractive  youth. 
A   young  Georgian,    named    Duncan   McRim- 
mon,  captured  by  the  Indians  whilst  he  was 
fishing,  was  doomed  to  death.     The  stake  was 
fixed,  the  victim  bound,  the  faggots  and  torch 
were  read}^  when  a  deliverer  came  in  the  person 
of  Milly  or  Malee,  a  girl  of  sixteen  years,  the 
daughter  of  Francis.    Her  intercessions  induced 
her  father  to  spare  McRimmon  and  send  him  to 
St.  Marks  to  insure  his  safety.    Not  thinking 
himself  secure  there,  McRimmon  went  aboard 
the  decoy  vessel,  and  by  a  singular  fatality  was 
there  w^hen  Francis  also  came. 

Malee,  bewitching  in  face,  slender  and  grace- 
ful in  form,  a  Red  Stick  in  blood  and  courage,  an 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  249 

expert  with  the  rifle,  a  feadess  rider  who 
required  no  other  help  than  one  of  her  small 
hands  to  mount,  was  the  ideal  of  an  Indian 
heroine.  She  was  likewise  sprightly  in  mind, 
and  spoke  English  and  Spanish  as  well  as 
Indian. 

An  adventure  will  illustrate  her  heroic  nature. 
After  her  father's  capture,  but  in  ignorance  of 
it,  she  and  several  attendants  barely  escaped 
the  snare  into  which  he  had  fallen.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  decoy,  however,  something  occur- 
ring to  excite  suspicion,  their  canoe  was  turned 
for  the  land.  To  arrest  it,  a  blank  shot  was 
firedby  the  vessel.  That  being  unheeded,  a  charge 
of  grape  shot  was  sent  after  the  fugitives.  The 
missiles  fell  around  them,  but  the  canoe  neither 
pausing  nor  changing  its  course,  was  paddled 
the  faster  for  the  shore.  A  boat  was  sent  in  pur- 
suit, but  the  chase  was  too  late.  As  the  heroine 
leaped  from  the  canoe  to  the  beach,  she  snatch- 
ed a  rifle  from  an  attendant  and  fired  at  the 
pursuers.  The  ball  having  grazed  several  of 
them,  and  struck  the  rudder-post,  put  an  end  to 
the  chase. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,McRimmon  sought 


250  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

Malee  in  marriage.  His  suit,  after  repeated  re- 
fusals, was  crowned  with  success.  A  marriage, 
and  a  happy  plantation  home  on  the  Suwanee, 
\vere  the  fruits  of  her  humanity,  and  his  per- 
sistent wooing.  After  eighteen  years  of  mar- 
ried life,  Malee  found  herself  a  widow  with  eight 
children. 

Among  the  Red  Sticks,  who  after  the  disas- 
trous battle  of  the  Horse  Shoe  fled  to  the  Semi- 
nole nation,  ^vere  a  Creek  mother  and  her 
orphan  boy,  whose  age  might  be  twelve.  The 
3^oung  Red  Stick  was  destined  in  after  years  to 
fill  the  continent  with  his  name.  Osceola  was 
old  enough  at  the  time  of  Tecumseh's  mission, 
and  the  stirring  events  in  which  it  resulted,  to 
receive  from  them  a  deep  and  lasting  impres- 
sion. To  those  impressions,  doubtless,  and  the 
blood  he  derived  from  one  of  those  Spartan  war- 
riors, whose  heroism  excited  the  admiration  of 
their  conquerors,  *  was  due  his  primacy  in  the 


*So  impressed  was  General  Jackson's  chivalric  nature 
with  the  lion-like  courage  of  the  Red  Sticks  at  the  battle  of 
the  Horse  Shoe,  that  he  made  an  earnest,  but  ineffectual 
effort  to  end  the  conflict,  and  thereby  save  a  remnant  of 
that  band  of  heroes. 


<:OLONIAL  FLORIDA.  251 

Seminole  war ;  for  an  alien  he  was  without  the 
influence  of  a  sept  to  achieve  it.  In  the  career 
of  the  Seminole  chief  may  be  discerned  the  far- 
reaching  influence  of  the  Great  Shawnee,  and 
the  abiding  force  of  youthful  impressions. 


252  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Jackson's  Invasion  of  West  Florida  in  1818 — Masot's  Pro- 
test —  Capture  of  Pensacola  —  Capitulation  of  San 
Carlos — Provisional  Government  Established  by  Jack- 
son— Pensacola  Restored  to  Spain — Governor  Callava — 
Treaty  of  Cession — Congressional  Criticism  of  Jack- 
son's Conduct. 

Hitherto  Jackson's  operations  had  been  con- 
fined to  the  province  of  East  Florida.  On  the 
tenth  of  May,  1818,  he  began  his  invasion  of 
West  Florida  by  crossing  the  Appalachicola 
river  at  the  Indian  village  of  Ochesee.  Thence 
he  followed  a  trail  which  led  him  over  the 
natural  bridge  of  the  Chipola  river — a  bridge 
which  it  would  be  difficult  for  the  v^ayfarer  to 
observe,  as  it  is  formed  by  the  stream  quieth" 
sinking  into  a  lime-stone  cavern,  through  which 
it  again  emerges  within  adistanceof  half  amile. 

Within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  trail,  and 
near  the  north  side  of  the  bridge,  there  is  a  cave 
one-fourth    of    a  mile    in    length,   with    many 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  253 

lateral  grottoes,  itvS  roof  pendant  with  glittering 
stalactites  and  its  floor  covered  with  lime-stones 
moulded  in  varied  and  eccentric  forms.  Panic- 
stricken  by  Jackson's  campaign  in  East  Florida, 
the  Indians  on  the  west  of  the  Appalachicola 
river,  when  he  began  his  westward  march, 
made  this  cave  a  place  of  refuge,  and  were  there 
quietly  concealed  when  his  troops  unconsciously 
marched  over  their  subterranean  retreat. 

The  army  marched  in  two  divisions.  The  one 
commanded  by  Jackson  in  person  followed  the 
bridge  trail,  the  other  moved  by  a  trail  which 
led  to  the  river,  northward  of  the  place  where 
it  made  its  cavernous  descent.  The  water 
being  high,  the  construction  of  a  bridge  or  rafts 
became  necessary  to  enable  the  wagons  and 
artillerv  to  cross.  Whilst  the  northern  division 
was  thus  obstructed,  General  Jackson,  unim- 
peded in  his  march,  reached  the  appointed  place 
of  junction.  Here  he  waited,  in  hourly  expecta- 
tion of  the  appearance  of  the  other  column, 
until  worked  up  to  a  frenzy  of  impatience  which 
was  changed  to  indignation  when,  after  the  junc- 
tion, the  interposition  of  a  river — contradicted, 
as  he  supposed,  by  his  own  immediate  experi- 


254  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

ence — was  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the  delay. 
At  length,  however,  the  guides,  by  disclosing  the 
existence  of  the  bridge,  solved  the  riddle  and  re- 
stored the  general  to  good  humor. 

His  march  westward,  and  south  of  the  north- 
ern boundar\^  of  the  province  of  West  Florida, 
brought  him  to  the  Escambia  river,  which, 
having  crossed,  he  reached  the  road  that  he 
had  opened  over  the  old  trail  in  1814,  when  he 
marched  to  Pensacola  on  a  similar  mission  to 
that  in  which  he  v^as  now  engaged. 

Don  Jose  Masot,  who  was  governor  of  West 
Florida,  having  received  intelligence  of  Jackson's 
westward  march  and  his  designs  on  Pensacola, 
sent  him  a  written  protest  against  his  invasion, 
as  an  offence  against  the  Spanish  king,  '^  ex- 
horting and  requiring  him  to  retire  from  the 
Province,''  threatening  if  he  did  not,  to  use  force 
for  his  expulsion.  This  protest  was  delivered 
by  a  Spanish  officer,  on  May  23,  after  Jackson 
had  crossed  the  Escambia  river  and  was  within 
a  few  hours'  march  of  Pensacola.  Notwith- 
standing Masot's  threat,  instead  of  advancing 
to  meet  the  invader,  he  hastily  retired  with 
most  of  his  troops  to  Fort  San  Carlos,  leaving 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  255 

a  fe\v  only  at  Pensacola,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-colonel  Don  Lui  Piemas,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  a  show  of  resistance. 

Masot's  protest,  instead  of  retarding,  seems 
to  have  accelerated  Jackson's  advance.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  da^^  on  which  it  was  re- 
ceived, the  American  army  was  in  possession  of 
Fort  St.  Michael  and  encamped  around  it. 
Thence,  immediately  upon  its  occupation,  Jack- 
son sent  Masot  a  dispatch  in  reply  to  his  pro- 
test, in  which  he  demanded  an  immediate 
surrender  of  Pensacola  and  Barrancas.  In  his 
answer,  on  May  24,  to  that  demand,  Masot, 
as  to  Pensacola,  referred  Jackson  to  Don  Lui 
Piemas;  as  to  San  Carlos  he  replied:  "This 
fortress  I  am  resolved  to  defend  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity. I  shall  repel  force  by  force,  and  he 
who  resists  aggression  can  never  be  considered 
an  aggressor.  God  preserve  your  excellency 
many  years."  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  com- 
munication, Jackson,  by  arrangement  with 
Colonel  Piemas,  took  possession  of  Pensacola. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  Jackson  replied  to 
Masot's  dispatch  of  the  twenty-fourth,  in  which 
he  tells  him  he  is  aware  of  the  Spanish  force, 


256  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

and  hints  at  the  foil}'  of  resistance  to  an  over- 
\vhelming  enemy.  In  conclusion  he  says:  '*I 
applaud  your  feelings  as  a  soldier  in  wishing  to 
defend  your  post,  but  when  resistance  is  ineffec- 
tual and  the  opposing  force  overwhelming,  the 
sacrifice  of  a  few  brave  men  is  an  act  of  wanton- 
ness, for  which  the  commanding  officer  is  ac- 
countable to  his  God." 

In  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  Jackson's 
communication  was  w^ritten,  and  within  a  few 
hours  after  it  was  received    by  Masot,   Fort 
San  Carlos  was  invested  by  the  American  army. 
On  the  night  of  the  twenty-fifth,  batteries  were 
established  in  favorable  positions  within  three 
hundred    and    eighty-five    yards    of    the    fort, 
though  the  work  was  interrupted  by  the  Span- 
ish guns.   Before  the  American  batteries  replied, 
Jackson,  in  his  anxiety  to  spare  the  effusion  of 
blood,  sent  Masot,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  another 
demand  to  surrender,  accompanied  by    a   rep- 
resentation of  the  futility,  if  not  the  folly,   of 
further  resistance.      The  refusal  of  the  demand 
was  followed  by  the  batteries    and   the   fort 
opening  upon  each  other.    The  firing  continued 
until  evening,  when  a  flag  from  the  fort  invited 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  257 

a  parley,  which  resulted  in  a  truce  until  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  twenty-seventh,  when,  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  articles  of  capitulation 
were  signed.  Such  was  Masot's  defense  to  "the 
last  extremity,"  and  such  the  fruit  of  Jackson's 
expostulation  with  his  fiery  but  feeble  antag- 
onist. 

The  military  features  of  the  capitulation  were 
that  the  Spanish  surrender  should  be  made 
with  the  honors  of  war,  drums  beating;  and 
flags  fl3^ing,  during  the  march  from  the  gate 
of  the  fort  to  the  foot  of  the  glacis,  where 
the  arms  were  to  be  stacked;  the  garrison 
to  be  transported  to  Havana ;  and  their  rights 
of  property,  to  the  last  article,  stricth- 
respected. 

But,  as  in  the  case  of  General  Campbell's  and 
Governor  Chester's  surrender,  in  1781,  to  Gal- 
vez,  there  was  a  political  aspect  to  the  capitu- 
lation of  Masot. 

In  Jackson's  despatch  to  Calhoun,  Secretary 
of  war,  he  says  of  the  capitulation:  '*The 
articles,  with  but  one  condition,  amount  to  a 
complete  cession  to  the  United  States,  of  that 
portion  of  the  Floridas  hitherto  under  the  gov- 


258  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

eniment  of  Don  Jose  Masot. "  The  condition 
alluded  to  was,  that  the  province  should  be 
held  by  the  United  States  until  Spain  could  fur- 
nish a  sufficient  militar^^  force  to  execute  the 
obligations  of  existing  treaties. 

Having  accepted  the  cession  of  West-Florida 
to  the  United  States,  Jackson  further  assumed 
the  authority  of  constituting  a  provisional 
government  for  the  conquered  province.  He 
appointed  one  of  his  officers.  Colonel  King,  civil 
and  military  governor ;  he  extended  the  revenue 
laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  country ;  ap- 
pointed another  of  his  officers.  Captain  Gads- 
den, collector  of  the  port  of  Pensacola,  with 
authority  to  enforce  those  laws ;  declared  what 
civil  laws  should  be  enforced,  and  provided  for 
the  preservation  of  the  archives,  as  well  as  for 
the  care  and  protection  of  what  had  been  the 
-^property  of  the  Spanish  crown,  but  now,  in  the 
v'General's  conception,  become  the  property  of 
^he  United  States. 

Shortly  after  these  occurrences.  General  Jack- 
son, with  his  constitution  sorely  tried  by  the 
fatigue  and  privations  of  the  campaign,  left 
Pensacola  for  his  home  in  Tennessee,  to  find 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  259 

quietude  and  repose,  made-  sweet  by  public  ap- 
plause on  the  one  side,  and  interrupted  by  bitter 
censure  and  criticism  on  the  other. 

The  views  with  which   Jackson    began    the 
Seminole  campaign  in  March,  and  those  which 
he  entertained  at  its  close  in  May,  by  the  capit- 
ulation of  Masot,  present  a  strange  and  strik- 
ing  contrast.      He    invaded    East-Florida    to 
crush  the  Seminoles,   as  he    had  crushed    the 
Creeks  of  Alabama.     This  he  accomplished  by 
invading  the  territory  of  a  power  at  peace  with 
the  United  States.    As  an  imperious  necessit\% 
the  invasion  was  justified  by  his  government. 
During  his  operations,  however,  he  acquired  in- 
formation from  which  he  concluded  that  there 
existed    a    sympathy     between     the    Spanish 
officials  at  Pensacola  and  the  Indians.      Osten- 
sibly, to  correct  that  abuse  he  marched  to  Pen- 
sacola, where  he  ended  his  campaign  by  procur- 
ing the  cession  of  the  province  of  West-Florida, 
followed  by  the  establishment  of  an  American 
government,    without    the    authority    of    the 
United  States. 

The  United  States,  without  formally  disavow- 
ing Jackson's  conduct,  signified  its  readiness  to 


260  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

restore  Pensacola  and  St.  Marks  whenever  a 
Spanish  force  presented  itself  to  receive  the  sur- 
render. In  September,  1819,  such  a  force  ap- 
pearing at  Pensacola,  the  town  and  Barrancas 
were  immediately  evacuated  by  the  American 
troops.  And  thus  ended  the  government  estab- 
lished by  Jackson,  after  it  had  existed  fourteen 
months,  during  which  it  was  administered 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Province. 

With  the  troops  there  came  as  governor  Don 
Jose  Maria  Callava,  knight  of  the  military  order 
ofHermenegildo,\vho,  in  1811,  had  won  the  cross 
of  distinction  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  battle 
of  Almonacid,  one  of  the  many  fiercely  fought 
battles  of  the  Peninsula  war. 

The  advent  of  the  Spaniards  seemed  to  be  in- 
consistent with  the  fact  that,  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  the  previous  February,  a  treaty  had 
been  entered  into  between  Secretary  Adams  and 
Don  Louis  de  Onis,  the  Spanish  minister  for  the 
cession  of  the  Floridas.  But  it  was  subject  to 
the  ratification  of  both  governments,  and, 
though  ratified  by  the  United  States,  it  had  not 
been  acted  upon  by  Spain.    At  first  the  re-occu- 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  261 

pation  might  have  been  considered  a  matter  of 
form,  in  which  a  sensitive  government  consulted 
its  dignity  by  placing  itself  in  a  condition  to 
make  a  voluntary  surrender  of  territory  for  a 
consideration,  instead  of  appearing  to  submit  to 
a  conquest.  But,  as  time  rolled  on  without  a 
ratification  of  the  treaty  by  Spain,  the  re-occu- 
pation of  Pensacola  seemed  to  point  to  her 
determination  to  permanently  retain  the 
Floridas. 

It  was  believed,  at  the  time  the  treaty  was 
negotiated,  that  Jackson's  bold  action  had  done 
more  to  bring  it  about  than  Mr.  Adams'  diplo- 
matic skill,  a  belief  for  which  there  was  an 
apparent  foundation  in  the  delay  of  Spain  to 
ratify  it  after  the  pressure  of  his  conquest  was 
removed. 

No  instance  in  the  life  of  that  great  man  more 
strikingly  illustrates  than  these  transactions 
the  beneficent  working  of  that  imperious  will, 
to  which  he  made  everything  bend  that  stood 
in  the  way  to  the  attainment  of  what  he  con- 
ceived a  patriotic  end. 

The  necessity  for  the  campaign  of  1814,  as 
well  as  that  which  he  had  just  closed,  convinced 


262  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

him  that  Florida,  as  a  Spanish  colony,  would 
be  a  constant  menace  to  the  peace  and  security 
of  the  border  settlements  of  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  not  so  much  from  the  hostilit}^  of  the 
Spanish  as  their  inability  to  control  the  restless 
and  war-like  Seminoles.  He  saw,  too,  the 
necessity  of  making  Spain  sensible  of  her  obli- 
gation to  exercise  the  necessary  restraint  upon 
her  savage  subjects,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
make  her  fully  realize  the  large  and  onerous 
military  establishment  it  would  be  necessary'  to 
maintain  in  Florida  to  accomplish  that  object. 
The  articles  of  capitulation  brought  the  United 
States  and  Spain  face  to  face  upon  this  question. 
It  impressed  upon  the  former  the  imperative 
necessity  of  securing  a  permanent  cession,  and 
it  compelled  the  latter  to  count  the  cost  in- 
volved in  fulfilling  the  condition  by  which  only 
the  provisional  cession  could  be  nullified. 

A  stud}^  of  the  correspondence  between  Masot 
and  Jackson,  w^hilst  the  latter  was  still  east  of 
the  Appalachicola  river,  creates  the  impression 
that  the  reason  assigned  by  Jackson  for  his  ex- 
pedition to  Pensacola  was  but  a  pretext,  and 
that  the  real  motive  was  made  manifest  by  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  263 

articles  of  capitulation — a  provisional  cession, 
as  the  first  step  to  a  permanent  cession.  He 
was  unsustained  by  his  government  openly,  at 
least,  he  was  censured  by  a  congressional  com- 
mittee and  denounced  by  the  press,  but  he  soon 
found  his  vindication  in  public  opinion,  en- 
lightened by  subsequent  events. 

Masot,  the  other  chief  actor  in  these  transac- 
tions,  had  been   appointed  governor  of  West 
Florida  in  November,  1816,  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  his  official  term  ended  with  the  capitula- 
tion   of  the    twenty-seventh    of    May,     1818. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  left  Pensacola  for  Havana 
in  the  cartel  Peggy,  one  of  the  vessels  provided 
by  Jackson  to  carry  the  Spanish  governor  to 
the  latter  place.     The  Peggy  was  overhauled  by 
an  armed  vessel  under  the  "Independent  Flag," 
as  the  ensign  of  Spain's  revolted  South  Ameri- 
can colonies  was  called.      No  lives  were  taken, 
nor  was  the  Peggy  made  a  prize,  for  she  was  an 
American,    but    the    Spaniards    were    robbed. 
Masot  had  with  him  eight  thousand  dollars  in 
coin,  which  he  had  concealed.    A  slight  suspen- 
sion by  the  neck,  however,  as  a  hint  of  a  higher 
and  more  fatal  one,  wrung  from  him  the  hiding- 


264  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

place  of  his  treasure,  which  he  lost,  but  saved 
his  life.*  The  Peggy  was  overhauled  bj  the 
''Independent  Flag,"  during  a  vo^-age  to 
Havana  from  Campeachy,  whither  she  had 
taken  refuge  from  what  w^as  supposed  to  be  a 
piratical  vessel. 

During  Masot's  administration  there  occurred 
a  transaction  which  occupied  a  place  in  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  special  committee  of  the 
senate  of  the  United  States,  appointed,  in  1818, 
to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the  occurrences 
of  the  Seminole  war  of  that  3^ear,  prominent 
amongst  them  the  capture  of  St.  Marks  and 
Pensacola.  The  committee  condemned  all  Jack- 
son's proceedings  and  seem  to  have  even 
harbored  the  suspicion  that  a  land  speculation 
prompted  him  to  exact  a  cession  of  the  latter 
place.  The  circumstances  w^hich  induced  the 
suspicion  are  detailed  in  an  affidavit  of  General 
John  B.  Eaton,  afterwards  secretary  of  war 
under  Jackson  and  governor  of  Florida,  which 
appears  amongst  the  documents  accompanying 
the  report  of  the  committee. t 


*  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  261. 
t  Niles'  Weekh'  Register,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  88. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  265 

It  seems  that,   in   1817,   Eaton    and   James 
Jackson  of  Nashville— nowise  related  to  General 
Jackson— foreseeing  that  Florida  was  to  be  ac- 
quired b}'  the  United  States,  resolved  to  make  a 
purchase  of  lots  in  Pensacola  and  lands  in  its 
vicinity.    To  them  w^ere  afterwards  added  six 
associates,  John  McCrae,  James  Jackson,  Jr., 
John    C.    McElmore,   John    Jackson,    Thomas 
Childress  and  John  Donelson,  who  was  anephew 
of  Mrs.  Jackson.    Donelson  and  a  Mr.  Gordon 
were  appointed  to  proceed    to    Pensacola   to 
make  the  purchases.      As  a  measure  of  security 
to   Donelson  and    Gordon,   Eaton    applied    to 
General  Jackson  and  obtained  for  them  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  Masot.      Provided  with  this 
letter,  w^hich  facilitated  their  operations,  Donel- 
son and  Gordon  went  to  Pensacola  and  fulfilled 
their  mission  by  buying  a  large  number  of  un- 
improved town  lots,  sixty  acres  of  land  adjoin- 
ing the  town  and  a  tract  on  the  bay  two  or 
three  miles  to  the  westward. 

Eaton  says :  General  Jackson  had  no  interest 
in  the  speculation,  nor  was  he  consulted  respect- 
ino-  it,  his  onl}^  connection  with  it  being  the 
letter  to  Masot.    As  there  is  no  allusion  to  the 


266  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

transaction  in  the  report  of  the  committee,  they^ 
must  have  concluded  that  the  suspicion  which 
prompted  the  search  for  evidence  respecting  it 
was  unfounded.  Such  at  least  must  be  the  just 
conclusion  from  the  silence  in  respect  to  the 
matter  observed  by  a  document  so  full  of 
pointed  condemnation  of  Jackson's  acts,  of  the 
manner  in  which  his  army  was  raised  and  the 
officers  commissioned  by  himself,  the  executions 
of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  the  capture  of  St. 
Marks  and  Pensacola,  the  establishment  of  a 
provisional  government,  the  extension  of  the 
revenue  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the 
conquered  province,  and  the  appointments  for  it 
of  a  governor  and  a  collector  of  the  customs. 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  267 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Treaty  Ratified— Jackson  Appointed  Provisional  Governor 
— Goes  to  Pensacola — Mrs.  Jackson  in  Pensacola — 
Change  of  Flags — Callava  Imprisoned — Territorial  Gov- 
ernment— Governor  Duval — First  Legislature  Meets  at 
Pensacola. 

Although  the  United  States  was  unremit- 
ting in  its  efforts  to  induce  Spain  to  ratify  the 
treaty  of  cession,  her  ratification  was  post- 
poned from  time  to  time  under  various  pretexts. 
Prominent  English  journals  having  declared, 
that  if  Florida  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  Great  Britian,  in  order  to  maintain  her 
influence  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  should  insist 
upon  a  surrender  to  her  of  the  Island  of  Cuba, 
public  opinion  in  the  United  States  i^ettled 
down  to  the  conclusion  that  the  'delay  of  the 
ratification  was  due  to  British  intrigue.  But, 
that  this  opinion  was  ill  founded,  is  evident 
from  President  Monroe's  message  of  the  seventh 
of  December,  1819,  in  which  he  sa^-s  :      "In  the 


268  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

course  which  the  Spanish  government  has  on 
this  occasion  thought  proper  to  pursue,  it  is 
satisfactory^  to  know  that  the\'  have  not  been 
countenanced  by  any  European  power.  On  the 
contrary,  the  opinion  and  wishes  of  both  France 
and  Great  Britain  have  not  been  withheld 
either  from  the  United  States  or  Spain,  and 
have  been  unequivocal  in  favor  of  ratification.  " 

The  procrastination  of  Spain  was  the  occa- 
sion of  intense  public  feeling  in  the  United 
States;  which  at  lens^th  formallv  manifested 
itself  on  March  8, 1820,  in  a  resolution  reported 
b\'  the  committee  of  Foreign  Relations  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  authorize  the  Pres- 
ident to  take  possession  of  West  Florida. 
Patience,  however,  prevailed,  and  on  February 
19,  1821,  the  ratification  took  place. 

General  Jackson  was  shortly  afterwards  ap- 
pointed Provisional  Governor  of  Florida,  and 
instructed  to  proceed  to  Pensacola  with  a 
small  military  force,  to  receive  from  the  Spanish 
authorities  a  formal  surrender  of  West  Florida. 
On  April  18,  he  left  the  Hermi^:.^e,  w^ith  Mrs. 
Jackson  and  his  adopt^^'^.  son,  Andrew  Jackson 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  269 

Donelson,  to  enter  upon  the  long,  tedious  jour- 
ney to  Pensacola,  via  New  Orleans.  . 

A  stage  of  the  journey  in  Southern  Alabama, 
brought  him  to  a  military  post,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  which,  William  Weatherford,  the  Creek 
hero,  resided.  At  the  suggestion  of  General 
Jackson,  Colonel  Brooke,  the  commandant  of 
the  Post,  and  his  host,  invited  Weatherford  to 
dine  with  his  conqueror.  The  invitation  was 
accepted.  When  the  Great  Chief  appeared, 
Jackson  cordially  met  him,  and  taking  him  by 
the  hand,  presented  him  to  Mrs.  Jackson  as 
"the  bravest  man  in  his  tribe.  " 

Coming  into  Florida  earW  in  Juh',  on  reach- 
inor  what  was  then  known  as  the  Fifteen  Mile 
House,  now  as  Gonzalia,  where  Mr.  Manuel 
Gonzalez  then  had  his  cattle  ranch,  the  General 
spent  several  days  with  him.  Whilst  there, 
hearing  of  the  approach  of  his  troops,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Gonzalez,  he  went  up  the  road 
to  meet  them.  Comin^^  to  a  creek,  thev  saw 
the  wagons  of  several  up-country  traders  stuck 
in  the  mud,  which  the  latter,  for  lack  of  suffi- 
cient force,  were  making  ineffectual  attempts 
to  move.      On  the  other  side  of  the  branch  were 


270  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF 

several  men  lying  on  the  ground,  and  horses 
grazing  near  them.  Accosting  the  men  who 
were  tugging  at  the  wheels  of  a  wagon,  Jackson 
said,  **  Why  don't  you  get  those  men  across  the 
branch  to  help  you ?  "  "Oh !  they  say  they  are 
General  Jackson's  staff.  "  ''Well,  "  said  he,  "  I 
am  General  Jackson  himself,  and  by  the  eternal, 
I  will  help  you  I  "  And  with  those  w^ords,  dis- 
mounting from  his  horse,  and  throwing  off  his 
coat,  he  lustily  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  the  Fifteen 
Mile  House,  headquarters  were  established,  and 
remained  there  until  all  the  arrangements  were 
made  for  a  formal  change  of  government. 

Mrs.  Jackson,  however,  took  up  her  residence 
at  Pensacola  two  or  three  weeks  before  Jul^^  17, 
when  the  change  of  flags  was  to  take  place. 
During  the  Sundays  which  preceded  the  change, 
Mrs.  Jackson,  who  was  an  eminently  pious 
woman,  cherishing  great  reverence  for  the  Sab- 
bath, was  greatly  scandalized  by  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  dishonored.  Shops  did  more 
business  on  that  day  than  any  other.  It  was  a 
day  of  public  gambling,  fiddling,  dancing,  and 
boisterous  conduct.    When  the  last  Sunday  of 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  271 

Spanish  rule  came,  seemingly  because  the  last, 
the  fiddling,  dancing,  noise  and  confusion,  ex- 
ceeded that  of  any  preceding  one.  Unable  to 
restrain  her  pious  indignation,  Mrs.  Jackson 
vented  it  in  a  protest  against  the  Sabattic  Sat- 
urnalia, made  through  Major  Staunton,  with  the 
emphatic  announcement  that  the  next  Sunday 
should  be  differently  spent. 

In  anticipation  of  the  change  of  government, 
there  was  a  large  influx  of  people  from  the 
States,  induced  by  the  great  expectations  enter- 
tained of  the  future  of  Pensacola ;  a  future  in 
which  it  was  confidently  predicted,  it  was  to  be 
the  rival  of  New  Orleans.  Many  persons  also 
came  expecting  official  appointments  from  the 
new  Governor,  but  who,  greatly  to  his  chagrin, 
aswelearnfrom  Mrs.  Jackson's  letters,  were  dis- 
appointed, in  consequence  of  the  President  him- 
self making  the  appointments. 

At  length  the  sun  arose  upon  the  day  when 
its  beams  were  for  the  last  time  to  bathe  in 
light  the  ancient  banner  of  Castile  and  Aragon, 
as  the  emblem  of  the  sovereignty  of  these 
shores.  In  the  early  morning  appeared  in  the 
Public  Square  the  Spanish  Governor's  guards, 


272  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

haiidsomeW  dressed  and  equipped,  consisting 
of  a  full  company  of  dismounted  dragoons  of 
the  regiment  of  Tarragona.  After  a  parade, 
they  fell  into  line  south  of  the  flag  stafl",  extend- 
ing from  east  to  west  in  front  of  the  Govern- 
ment House,  which  stood  on  the  north-east  cor- 
ner of  Jefferson  and  Sargossa  streets.  At  eight 
o'clock  there  marched  down  Palafox  street  a 
battalion  of  the  Fourth  Infantry,  and  a  com- 
pany of  the  Fourth  United  States  Artiller^^, 
coming  from  their  camp  at  Gal  vez  Springs,  which 
filing  into  the  Square,  formed  a  line  opposite  the 
Spanish  guards,  and  north  of  the  flag  staff- 
Precisely^  at  ten  o'clock.  General  Jackson  and 
his  stafl",  entering  the  Square,  passed  amid 
salutes  from  the  Spanish  and  American  troops, 
between  their  lines  to  the  Government  House, 
where  Governor  Callava  awaited  him  for  the 
purpose  of  executing  the  documentary^  formali- 
ties of  the  cession.  As  the  first  sign  that  this 
act  was  performed,  the  Spanish  sergeant  guard 
at  the  gate  was  relieved  b}'  an  American  sen- 
tinel. General  Jackson  and  Governor  Callava 
then  left  the  house,  and  passed  between  the 
double  line  of  troops.      As  they  reached  the  flag 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  273 

staff  the  Spanish  flag  came  down,  and  the  stars 
and  stripes  went  up,  saluted  by  the  Fourth  Artil- 
lery and  the  sloop-of-war  Hornet,  whilst  her 
band,  assisting  at  the  ceremon}',  played  the 
Star  Spangled  Banner. 

At  Barrancas  the  ceremony  w^as  slightly 
different.  The  flags  of  both  nations  appeared 
at  the  same  time  at  half-mast.  In  that  posi- 
tion they  were  saluted  by  the  Spaniards.  As 
the  flags  were  separated,  one  ascending  and  the 
other  descending,  both  were  honored  with  a 
salute  by  the  .Americans. 

The  da\'  was  naturally  one  of  rejoicing  to  the 
Americans,  but  as  naturally  one  of  sadness 
and  in  some  instances  of  heart  aches  to  the 
Spanish  population.  The  advantages  of  being 
under  the  United  States  government  were  too 
great  not  to  be  appreciated  by  owners  of  real 
estate  and  business  men  generally.  But  there 
w^as  a  sentimental  side  to  the  change.  Some  of 
the  Spanish  garrison  had  married  in  Pensacola, 
and  with  others  the  inhabitants  had  formed 
social  ties,  induced  by  a  common  language, 
habits  and  tastes.  To  them  it  can  well  be  im- 
agined that  the  change  of  flags  was  but  the 


274  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

presage  of  bitter  separations.  In  1763  all 
the  Spanish  left  the  country,  and  in  a  common 
exile  mutual  consolation  was  found;  but,  in 
1821,  the  sorrow  was  that  a  part  went  and  a 
part  remained  to  mingle  with  a  strange  people. 
Mrs.  Jackson,  in  a  letter,  thus  expresses  the 
emotions  of  the  occasion:  "Oh!  how  they 
burst  into  tears  to  see  the  last  ray  of  hope  de- 
part from  their  devoted  city  and  country — de- 
livering up  the  keys  of  the  archives — the  vessels 
lying  in  the  harbor  in  full  view  to  waft  them  to 
their  distant  port.  .  .  .  How  did  the  city  sit 
solitary  and  mourn.  Never  did  my  heart  feel 
more  for  a  people.  Being  present,  I  entered 
immediately  into  their  feelings." 

The  Sunday  following  the  change  was,  ac- 
cording to  Mrs.  Jackson's  prediction,   one  of 
quietude    and    freedom    from    the    license    of 
-previous    ones,    which    had    so    shocked    her 
:religious  sensibilities.    She  thus  expresses  the 
ichange:     ''Yesterday  I  had  the   happiness    of 
-witnessing  the  truth  of  what  I  had  said.   Great 
order  was  observed,  the  doors  kept  shut,  the 
gambling  houses  demolished,  fiddling  and  danc- 
ing not  heard  any  more  on  the  Lord's  day, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  275 

cursing  not  to  be  heard."  For  the  change  the 
lovers  of  Sunday  quietude  were  doubtless 
indebted  to  Mrs.  Jackson,  for  her  prediction  is 
not  to  be  taken  as  that  of  a  prophetess  who 
merel}'  foresees  and  foretells,  but  that  of  a 
woman  with  a  will  of  her  own,  and  conscious 
of  her  ability  to  direct  the  stern  governor  in 
the  exercise  of  his  authority,  at  least  outside  of 
politics. 

The  next  morning  after  the  change  of  flags, 
the  Spanish  officers  and  garrison  sailed  for 
Havana  in  the  transports  Anne  Maria  and 
Tom  Shields,  under  convoy  of  the  United  States 
sloop-of-war  Hornet. 

Governor  Callava  and  staff,  however,  re- 
mained in  Pensacola,  where  his  handsome 
person,  polished  manners,  soldierly  bearing  and 
high  character  made  him  a  general  favorite  with 
the  American  officers  and  their  families,  who 
extended  to  him  every  social  courtesy.  General 
and  Mrs.  Jackson,  however,  were  distant  and 
reserved  in  their  bearing  towards  him,  resulting 
in  some  measure  from  a  prejudice  against  Span- 
ish officials  induced  b}'  the  general's  experience 
with  Maurique  and  Masot.   Perhaps,  too,  there 


276  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

mingled  with  that  prejudice  a  slight  feeling  of 
jealousy  of  Callava's  social  success,  a  weakness 
from  which  strong  characters,  under  the  insinu- 
ation of  others,  are  not  exempt. 

There  soon  occurred,  however,  a  painful  inter- 
ruption of  the  gallant  Spaniard's  social  enjoy- 
ment— so  graceful  an  attendant  of  the  change 
of  government — by  an  occurrence  which  must 
be  regarded  as  a  lasting  reproach  to  its  authors. 

The  treaty  required  the  Spanish  government 
to  surrender  all  documents  relating  to  private 
rights  in  the  archives  of  the  province.  This 
duty  had  been  performed  by  Callava,  who  had 
caused  a  separation  to  be  made  between  the 
documents  falling  within  the  definition  of  the 
treaty  and  others  which  did  not,  and  had  de- 
livered the  former  to  Alcalde  H.  M.  Brackenridge, 
an  appointee  of  the  American  gove^rnor.  The 
latter  papers,  packed  in  boxes  for  transporta- 
tion to  Havana,  were  placed  in  the  custod}^  of 
Doningo  Sousa,  one  of  Callava's  subordinates. 
In  the  separation  of  the  papers,  one  relating  to 
the  estate  of  Nicholas  Maria  Vidal,  involving  a 
trifling  sum,  was  by  accident  placed  with  the 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA  277 

documents  in  one  of  the  boxes  in  Sousa's  pos- 
session. 

A  woman  claiming  to  be  an  heir  of  Vidal  com- 
plained to  Brackenridge  that  the  paper  had  not 
been  delivered  to  him  and  was  about  to  be 
removed  to  Havana  by  Sousa.  Brackenridge, 
instead  of  politely  calling  Callava's  attention 
to  the  woman's  complaint  and  asking  for  a  sur- 
render of  the  document,  at  once  made  a  pre- 
emptory  demand  for  it  upon  Sousa.  Sousa 
properly  declined  compliance,  alleging  his  want 
of  authority  to  do  so  without  instructions 
from  Callava,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  relieve 
himself  from  responsibility  in  the  matter,  sent 
the  boxes  to  Callava's  house.  Brackenridsfe  at 
once  reported  the  matter  to  Jackson,  who 
ordered  Sousa  to  be  imprisoned,  and  at  the  same 
time  Callava  to  be  arrested  and  brought  before 
him  immediately,  although  it  was  night  and 
Callava  was  at  the  time  at  a  dinner  party  at  Col- 
onel Brooke's.  When  the  knightly  Castilian  was 
brought  before  Jackson,  he  naturally  proposed 
to  enter  a  protest  against  such  astonishing 
proceedings.  This  Jackson  would  not  permit, 
but  insisted  that  Callava  should  at  once  answer 


278  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

interrogatories  to  be  propounded  to  him.  Cal- 
lava's  persistent  attempts  to  protest  were  as 
persistently  interrupted  b\'  Jackson,  until  at 
last  the  latter,  in  a  rage  of  passion,  ordered  him 
to  be  imprisoned,  an  order  which  was  promptly 
executed  by  commiting  him  to  the  calaboose, 
where  Sousa  had  preceded  him.  This  outrage 
committed.  Alcalde  Brackenridge,  as  if  deter- 
mined to  leave  no  bounds  of  decency  un  violated, 
had  the  boxes  at  Callava's  house  opened  that 
night  and  took  from  one  of  them  the  worthless 
paper — worthless  at  least  to  the  claimant — that 
had  occasioned  the  trouble. 

For  this  disgraceful  transaction  Brackenridge 
is  primarily  responsible.  He  was  an  intelligent 
law3^er,  afterwards  a  judge,  and  later  a  member 
of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania;  and  therefore, 
presumably  acquainted  with  the  decencies,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  amenities  of  official  inter- 
course. He  w^as  likewise  well  acquainted  with 
Jackson's  prejudices  and  irascible  temper,  as 
well  as  what  a  fire-brand  to  his  nature  w^ere  the 
w^rongs,  whether  real  or  simulated,  of  a  woman. 
In  the  light  of  these  considerations,  Bracken- 
ridge must  stand  condemned,  as  either  a  wilful 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  279 

mischief-maker,  or  a  wily  sycophant,  playing 
from  selfish  motives,  upon  the  weaknesses  of  a 
great  man. 

But  neither  Jackson's  greatness,  nor  his  being 
the  dupe  of  Brackenridge,  can  remove  from  him 
the  reproach  of  having  in  this  transaction  vio- 
lated official  courtes}^  the  chivalrous  con- 
sideration due  by  one  distinguished  soldier  to 
another,  as  well  as  the  laws  of  international 
comity  and  hospitalit3\ 

A  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  was  issued  b}^  Hon. 
Elijias  Fromentin,  U.  S.  Judge  for  West  Florida, 
to  bring  before  him  Callava  and  Sousa,  on  the 
night  they  were  committed.  Obedience  to  the 
writ  was  refused  by  the  guard,  who  sent  it  to 
the  Governor.  Thereupon,  His  Excellenc\'  issued 
a  notice  to  the  Judge  to  appear  before  him,  "to 
show  cause  why  he  has  attempted  to  interfere 
with  my  authority  as  Governor  of  the  Floridas, 
exercising  the  powers  of  the  Captain-General 
and  Intendant  of  the  Island  of  Cuba. "  The 
Judge  prudently  delayed  his  appearance  until 
the  next  daj',  in  order  to  allow  the  Governor 
time  to  cool ;  but  in  the  meantime  remained  in 
momentary    expectation  of  a  guard  to  take 


280  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

him  to  jail.  The  affair,  however,  ended  in  a 
storm\'  interview,  in  which  to  the  Governor's 
question,  whether  the  Judge  "would  dare  to 
issue  a  writ  to  be  served  on  the  Captain-Gen- 
eral,"  the  latter  replied,  ''No,  but  if  the  case 
should  require  it,  I  would  issue  one  to  be  served 
on  the  President  of  the  United  States.  " 

After  the  troublesome  paper  was  procured  by 
Brackenridge,  an  order  was  made  for  the  release 
of  Callava.  A  few  days  after  his  release  he  left 
Pensacola  for  Washington  to  make  his  com- 
plaints to  the  United  States  government. 

Some  of  the  Spanish  officers  whom  he  had  left 
in  Pensacola,  published  after  his  departure,  a 
paper  expressing  their  sense  of  the  outrage  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected.  This  being  regard- 
ed by  Jackson  as  an  attempt  *'to  disturb  the 
harmony,  peace  and  good  order  of  the  existing 
government  of  the  Floridas,"  the  protesting 
Spaniards  were  by  proclamation  ordered  to 
leave  the  country  by  the  third  of  October,  allow- 
ing them  four  da3^s  for  preparation,  *'on  pain  of 
being  dealt  with  according  to  law,  for  contempt 
and  disobedience  of  this,  my  proclamation.  " 

A   tragedy  occurred    during    Jackson's  rule, 


COLONIAL  FLORIDA.  281 

which  illustrates  his  lack  of  tenderness  of 
human  life.  With  full  knowledge  of  the  affair, 
he  permitted  a  duel  to  be  fought  in  a  ])ublic 
place  by  two  young  officers,  Hull  and  Randall. 
When  he  was  informed  that  the  former  had 
fallen,  shot  through  the  heart,  pistol  in  hand, 
with  the  trigger  at  half-cock,  he  angrily  ex- 
claimed :  ''  Damn  the  pistol ;  by  G — d,  to  think 
that  a  brave  man  should  risk  his  life  on  a  hair- 
trigger !  " 

Jackson's  bearing  generally,  and  especially 
liis  summary  dealings  with  Callava  and  Sousa, 
had  inspired  the  population  with  great  fear  of 
his  despotic  temper.  Of  that  feeling  there  oc- 
curred a  ludicrous  illustration.  An  alarm  of 
fire  brought  a  crowd  to  the  Public  Square, 
which  was  near  the  fire.  General  Jackson  also 
hurried  to  the  scene.  To  stir  the  lookers-on  to 
exertion,  he  made  a  yelling  appeal.  The  crowd 
not  understanding  English,  and  thinking  it 
had  heard  a  notice  to  disperse,  took  to  its  heels, 
and  left  the  General  the  sole  occupant  of  the 
Square. 

Mrs.  Jackson  was  a  domestic  woman,   and 
better  satisfied  to  have  her  husband  at  home, 


282  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES  OF 

than  to  see  him  in  exalted  stations  requiring" 
his  absence  from  the  Hermitage.  Whilst  in 
Pensacola,  she  pined  for  that  dear  spot ;  and  it 
is,  evidently,  \Yith  joy,  that  she  announced  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  that  the  General  calls  his 
coming  to  Florida,  ''a  wild  goose  chase,"  and 
that  he  proposed  an  early  return.  In  October 
they  returned  to  Tennessee. 

That  a  man  of  his  estate  and  political  pros- 
pects, should  have  accepted,  to  fill  for  a  few 
months,  the  office  of  Governor  of  a  wilderness, 
with  a  salary  of  $5,000,  admits  of  only  one  ex- 
planation. His  recent  campaign  had  been  so 
severely  condemned,  that  he  regarded  the  ten- 
der of  the  appointment  by  Mr.  Monroe,  as  hav- 
ing the  semblance,  at  least,  of  a  national  apol- 
ogy for  the  injustice  which  he  had  suffered,  and 
accordingly  he  accepted  it  in  the  spirit  in  which 
it  was  tendered.  In  a  word,  he  filled  the  office,, 
because  filling  it  would  be  a  vindication  of  his 
conduct  in  the  campaign  of  1818. 

On  the  third  of  March,  1822,  congress 
established  a  territorial  government  for  both 
the  Floridas  as  one  territory.  The  first  gov- 
ernor under  the  territorial  organization  was 


COLONIAL   FLORIDA.  283 

W.  P.  Duval  of  Kentuck}^,  who  had  rbpresented 
a  district  of  that  state  in  congress,  and  who 
was  the  original  of  Washington  Irving^s  Ralph 
Ring  wood.  He  resided,  temporarih^  in  Pensa- 
cola,  where  the  legislative  council  of  thirteen, 
appointed  by  the  President,  held  its  first  session. 
It  had  hardly  begun  its  work,  however,  when 
the  yellow  fever  breaking  out  compelled  an  ad- 
journment to  the  Fifteen-mile  house,  before 
mentioned,  where  the  Florida  statutes  of  1822 
were  enacted.  One  of  them  illustrates  the  vice 
or  virtue  there  may  be  in  a  name.  The  title  of 
"An  Act  for  the  Benefit  of  Insolvent  Debtors," 
w^as  misprinted  in  the  laws  of  the  session  so  as 
to  read:  *'An  Act  for  the  Relief  of  Insolent 
Debtors."  The  error  destroyed  its  utility,  and 
no  man,  it  is  said,  as  long  as  it  remained  on  the 
statute  book,  ever  invoked  the  relief  of  its  pro- 
visions. 

The  limit  assigned  to  these  historical  sketches 
has  now  been  reached.  The  space  that  inter- 
venes between  the  visit  of  the  luckless  Navaez 
to  Pensacola  bay  and  the  establishment  of  the 
territorial  government  of  Florida  embraces  a 
period  of  nearly    three    hundred    3'ears.      The 


284        SKETCHES  OF  COLONIAL  FLORIDA. 

changes  and  shifting  scenes  which,  during  that 
period,  marked  the  history  of  the  settlements  on 
its  shores,  stand  in  contrast  with  the  persistency 
of  the  arbitrary  boundary  line  of  the  Perdido, 
established  by  the  mutual  consent  of  the  Spanish 
and  French  in  the  earl^^  ^^ears  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Disturbed  by  the  English  dominion 
for  twenty  3^ears,  it  was  restored  by  the  Span- 
ish, and  finally  confirmed  in  1822  by  the  act  of 
congress  establishing  a  territorial  government 
for  the  Floridas. 

In  1820  the  constitutional  convention  of 
Alabama,  in  anticipation  of  the  ratification  of 
the  Spanish  treaty,  memorialized  congress  to 
embrace  West  Florida  within  the  boundaries  of 
that  state.  The  memorial  enforced  the  measure 
with  all  those  obvious  arguments  which  come 
to  the  mind  w^hen  it  turns  to  the  subject.  But 
they  were  silenced,  as  if  by  the  imperious  decree 
of  fate  that  the  Perdido  boundary  should  be, 
and  forever  remain,  a  monument  of  d'  Arriola's 
diligence  in  reaching  the  Gulf  coast  three  years 
before  d'  Iberville. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recalL  ^, 

J  NTER  ;. . . ,  Aint)  DISC  CIRC   DEC  1 4  'Q? 

COSH 


A?R  3  0  1965 


TKTt? 


ea-y 


aaAR]f 


uoah 


OCT  19  19^8 


NOV  -  3  1981 


RECEIVED 

NOV  ^  8  1981 


CIRCULATION  DEPT. 


FEB  16 1993 


IIAY    I 


LD  21A-60m-4,'64 
(E45558l0)476B 


General  Library 

Uoiversity  of  California 

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